Come Closer
by alayahchanel
Summary: After the death of her fathers, Rachel Berry is not looking for another family. When she is put into the custody of her birth mom and her family, Rachel is thrown into a different environment than what she's used to. Adding to her stress is Puck, the bad boy at school fresh out of juvie who is intrigued by Rachel but told to stay away. Turns out that's an order he can't follow.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! Here is a new story idea that I came up with. Enjoy!**

 **Plot: After the death of her fathers, Rachel Berry is not looking for another family. When she is put into the custody of her birth mom and her family, Rachel is thrown into a different environment than what she's used to. Adding to her stress is Puck, the bad boy at school fresh out of juvie who is intrigued by Rachel but told to stay away. Turns out that's an order he can't follow.**

Chapter 1

As she zipped the last suitcase, Rachel looked around the room she'd known her whole life. Everything was taken down and either packed or given away. As much as she wanted to wake up from this nightmare, nothing was going to change the fact that her fathers, the only parents she ever knew, were gone and she was being sent to live with someone she didn't even know.

"Rachel?" the social worker called. "It's time to go sweetheart."

She sighed and grabbed the suitcase before going downstairs. "This is the last of it."

"Okay well we should go, they're waiting for you."

Rachel nodded and took one last look at her home before following the social worker out the door. When she was told that she would be sent to live with her birth mother, Rachel adamantly refused. The woman gave her away for money so there was no reason for her to be around now especially now that she had a family of her own.

When they pulled up in front of the house, Rachel immediately felt butterflies in her stomach. "Here goes nothing."

She and the social worker got out of the car and were immediately met with her birth mother, Shelby.

"I'm so glad you managed to find it," Shelby smiled.

"It's a pretty big house, it'd be hard to miss it," Rachel replied.

"Come on, let's go inside," she said, trying to ignore the comment. They walked in and sat in the living room where the rest of the family was. "Rachel this is my husband David and our daughter, Marley."

"Hey," Rachel waved.

David stepped forward to shake her hand. "It's so great to finally meet you."

"You too," she replied, even though that was the opposite of how she felt.

A moment of awkward silence fell on the group before Shelby spoke. "Uh Marley why don't you show Rachel her room?"

The teenager nodded. "Sure, let's go."

They grabbed her suitcases and headed upstairs as the social worker looked at Shelby and David. "Sorry about that, she's been like this all day."

"It's understandable in her situation," David nodded. "We just hope we can help make it better."

"Well I believe she's in good hands here so I will leave you all to it. Good luck."

"Thank you," Shelby said as she walked her out. When she came back, she looked at her husband. "Do you think we're doing the right thing? I mean should we have waited longer before bringing her here?"

He shook his head. "If we had done that she would've been put in a foster home across town and you never would've gotten to know her."

"I know but she just lost the men who raised her and got stuck with people she doesn't even know, what if this is a disaster?"

David put his hands on her shoulders. "Look I know this is a strange situation but I saw your face when you got the call about what happened. You wanted to help this girl and now you can. We can do this."

Realizing he was right, Shelby nodded as he kissed her forehead. Meanwhile upstairs, Rachel couldn't bring herself to unpack any of her stuff. All she could do is stare at her new room and try to understand how she got here in the first place.

"Do you need help?" a soft voice asked, bringing her out of her thoughts. Rachel looked and saw it was Marley. "I mean with unpacking."

She shook her head. "No thanks. I just can't get used to the fact that I'm here. Like the universe is playing the biggest joke on me and I just can't laugh about it."

"Rachel-"

"Like what are the odds that my dads die and I end up being placed with the woman who gave me away in the first place? Stuff like that never happens."

Marley shifted in the doorway. "Well Mom just ended up being the only living relative you have so maybe it was fate."

"Yeah I doubt that," Rachel rolled her eyes. "And she's your mom, not mine. She's nothing but some person who did a job and thought nothing of it."

"That's not true. She has this book of you and-"

"No offense but I don't really want to hear it right now. I'd actually like to be alone."

The younger teenager nodded sadly before closing the door and walking away as Rachel pulled out a stuffed animal from her bag and curled up on her bed to cry. This was all just a bad dream that she wanted to be over.

Marley went downstairs and joined her parents in the kitchen. "Need any help with dinner?"

Shelby smiled. "Thanks honey but I'm fine. Besides I want you to get to know Rachel."

"I don't think she wants to get to know me."

"Why would you say that?" David asked.

"Well I tried to talk to her but she asked to be alone. I'm not sure how to be helpful to her right now."

"Don't worry about it Marley," Shelby said. "Everything is so new for her, we have to give her time to adjust and grieve. She'll come around and soon we'll all be one big family."

"I wouldn't call four people a big family but I see what you're saying," she nodded before going into the living room.

David looked at Shelby. "Do you believe any of what you said?"

"I'm trying to," she replied before going back to cutting vegetables. This situation was definitely going to take some getting used to.

 **Let me know what you think! Bye for now :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! Enjoy!**

Chapter 2

Later on that night, Rachel got up and grabbed her suitcase. As much as she hated it, this was supposed to be her home now so she had to unpack. As she unpacked quietly, she came across a photo of her and dads that she immediately put on her nightstand. This was not the way that she intended on meeting her birth mother but then again, she never thought that she would ever meet her birth mother at all.

 _Flashback_

 _It had been two days after her fathers' deaths and Rachel was stuck with a social worker keeping track of her every move to make sure she didn't run off while social services tried to find her birth mom. When they did, they arranged a meeting between them before anything happened further._

 _When Shelby walked in and stared at Rachel in shock. Before either of them could speak, the social worker came in._

" _Shelby this is Rachel. Rachel, Shelby."_

 _Rachel stared at the woman in front of her. "Hi."_

" _Hi. How are you?"_

" _My parents just died, I'm sure you can take a guess," she replied sourly._

" _Rachel," the social worker reprimanded._

" _No it's okay," Shelby said. "She's right, it is a terrible situation and I am really sorry for your loss. I'm sure they were wonderful to you."_

 _Rachel nodded. "The best."_

 _Sensing the tension, the social worker tried to help. "Well Rachel since Shelby has agreed to take you in, there isn't a need to put you into foster care."_

" _Should I be grateful that the woman who gave me up is only taking me in because she has to?" she replied in a cold tone before walking away._

 _The last thing she wanted to do was to act like she was fine with moving in with Shelby after all this time. She almost preferred to be put in foster care._

 _End of Flashback_

Rachel smiled slightly at the photo of her and her dads before climbing in her bed and falling asleep. The next morning, she was woken up by the smell of breakfast cooking. When she got downstairs, she found David cooking while Marley sat at the table eating breakfast.

When she noticed her, Marley smiled. "Morning Rachel."

David turned around. "Hey you're up. You might want to get dressed or you'll be late to school."

"I thought I would've had to wait a day or so for you to register me," Rachel said, confused.

He shook his head. "No your mom took care of that already."

"Shelby," she corrected. He looked at her, confused. "She's not my mom, she's Marley's. She's not anyone but someone who had kid for two men and went on her way with their money."

"I'm sorry you feel that way Rachel," Shelby said, walking in from behind her. "But according to biology, I'm at least your birth mom."

"Yeah that's among the list of things I wish I could change," she replied, coldly. "I'm going to get dressed."

Seeing Shelby's crestfallen face, David walked over to her. "One day at a time. I think you should take them to school."

"You really think that's a good idea after that remark?"

He shrugged. "Got to break the ice sometime. Besides I don't think she'd take well to a new man in her life so soon after…you know."

She sighed. "I hate when you're right."

He kissed her before handing her a plate as Marley sighed. "Do I really have to help her out at school?"

Shelby looked at her. "I thought you were looking forward to helping her?"

"That was before I met her and found out she was such a bi-"

"Marley," David warned.

"Sorry but you have to admit this isn't what we were expecting when you agreed to take her in."

Shelby sighed. "I know how much you were looking forward to getting a sister and I realize this is kind of a letdown. But you have to keep in mind that Rachel just lost the people who raised her and is going through a lot right now. How would you feel if you lost Dad and I?"

Marley thought for a moment and sighed. "Okay I see your point. But that doesn't mean she has to make the situation harder with her attitude."

"People cope with grief in different ways and this is just Rachel's way of coping. It will get better, you'll see."

She hesitantly nodded. "Hope you're right."

David sent an approving nod to Shelby before grabbing an apple. "Okay I have to get going. Have a good day ladies and tell Rachel I said to have a good first day."

He kissed Shelby and kissed Marley on the forehead before walking out as Shelby sighed. "Rachel! We have to go or you'll be late."

Seconds later, she came down the stairs. "Wouldn't be the worst thing. I'm the new girl so I'm already off to a bad start."

"She's not wrong about that," Marley nodded as she got up to grab her backpack.

Shelby sighed as they finally left the house. Rachel stayed silent the entire car ride as she stared out the window and observed her new surroundings. While this may have been her home for right now, it wouldn't be her home for long.

When they got to the school, Shelby looked at Rachel. "Do you need me to go in with you?"

"I'm sixteen, the time to be a worried mother is over," she rolled her eyes as she got out of the car.

Marley looked at her mom and tried to smile. "It'll get better, right?"

"Right," Shelby smiled as she got out of the car. She took one last look at the girls before driving off.

Marley went to catch up with Rachel. "Do you need help finding your locker or anything?"

"Aren't you a freshman? How familiar are you with this place?" she asked, walking ahead of her.

"More familiar than you are. That's why you're walking in the wrong direction to your locker."

Rachel stopped and turned around. "Fine I guess I need your help."

The younger girl smirked and directed her to her locker. "You know, we're not all evil. I get that you're angry with my mom but my dad and I are completely innocent."

"Shows how much you really get," she mumbled.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Rachel sighed before looking at her. "You and your dad represent the life she went on and created after giving me away. Your perfect mom was so desperate for money that she accepted a job from my dads to have a baby for them and just disappear without leaving anything for me to at least know who she was. I was nothing but a way to get money for her which is why it was so easy for her to move on with your dad and have you just two years later. You and your dad may not have done anything intentionally but every time I look at you guys, that's all I see."

Marley stood there speechless as the bell rang and Rachel walked away. She didn't plan on unloading all of that on Marley but the girl was asking for it. Now she would probably have to deal with David and Shelby being pissed about upsetting her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After the conversation with Marley, the first half of the day was a blur for Rachel. She couldn't focus on anything the teachers were saying and by the time lunch came, she was actually happy for the break. As she stood in line, one of the cheerleaders in front of her left a wallet behind. As much as Rachel hated interacting with cheerleaders, her dads raised her to be kind and do the right thing.

"Hey!" she called, catching up to the group.

"Sorry we don't talk to midgets," the Latina smirked.

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes before holding up the wallet. "Someone missing this?"

One of the blonds stepped forward and took it. "Crap I keep doing this. Thanks."

"No problem."

"Okay she's actually starting to make me lose my appetite," the Latina said.

"Santana lay off," the blond replied before looking at Rachel. "You're new here, right? I think you're in my history class."

Santana rolled her eyes. "Okay let's go sit down before I actually throw up from this encounter."

As she and the other cheerleaders walked away, the blond turned to Rachel. "Sorry, Santana can be a bit…"

"Bitchy?" Rachel smirked. "Yeah I've noticed."

"I'm Quinn. You are?"

"Rachel. And yeah, I'm new. I'm surprised you even noticed me in your class, I sat all the way in the back."

Quinn shrugged. "I'm observant. Got anyone to sit with?"

Rachel looked around and saw Marley but she was with a group of friends. "Nope I guess not."

"Come on," she said, directing her to an empty table.

"Uh shouldn't you be sitting with your friends?"

Quinn shook her head. "I spend enough of my time with them." Seeing Rachel's confused and shocked expression, she laughed. "Not all cheerleaders are bitches. Some of us are actually nice."

"Okay," she said as they started eating their lunches.

"So where are you from?"

"Cincinnati. But I was born here."

"Sorry you got stuck here again. Lima isn't the coolest place to move to."

"Yeah it was definitely against my will. So what's with Santana? Is she always like that?"

Quinn nodded. "Yeah pretty much. You get used to it after a while." Rachel nodded before looking over at Marley's table and seeing her laugh with her friends. "Do you know her?"

"Yeah she's uh…" Not wanting to lie, she sighed. "She's kind of my sister, I guess."

"You guess?" Quinn raised an eyebrow.

"It's a long story. I just met her and I said some things to her this morning that might've been a little mean and I feel bad now."

"Oh well maybe you should talk to her. I mean if you just met, you don't want to mess things up with her already."

Rachel nodded as they continued with their lunch. She did feel bad about snapping on Marley when all she's done is try to help her make sense of this terrible situation. Her dads raised her to be better than that and she knew they would be disappointed in her. Plus, she couldn't deny that it would be nice to have someone to talk to in that house. Why shouldn't it be her own sister?

Later that night, Rachel went to Marley's room and stood in the doorway. "So where'd your parents get the name Marley from?"

She looked up from her book and hesitated before speaking. "They wanted something creative and different. And my dad's parents loved reggae music and listened to a lot of Bob Marley so they fell in love with the name. What about you? What made your dads name you Rachel?"

"They were big 'Friends' fans," she smirked before walking in and sitting across from Marley. "What I said this morning was kind of mean and I'm sorry. You're right, you didn't do anything to me so it isn't fair that I've been terrible to you."

Marley sighed. "Look I'm not even going to pretend to understand what you're going through because I can't. It's a pretty messed up situation and if it were me, I'd probably be handling it a lot worse. I just want to try to help make it less awful."

"Thanks," she smiled slightly. "You know what I realized? Before all of this, we were raised as only children. Neither one of us are really used to this whole sister thing but…I'm willing to try. I just got thrown into this new, bizarre situation and it would be nice if I had at least one person I can trust."

Marley smiled. "Well you can start with me."

Rachel smiled back as they started talking about her first day. Now that she had Marley on her side, it could either make dealing with Shelby and David easier or ten times harder. For the time being, she just wanted to focus on being a sister.

 **Puck comes in next chapter. Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! Enjoy!**

Chapter 3

The next morning, Marley sat in the kitchen eating breakfast as Shelby walked in.

"Morning sweetheart," she greeted. "Did your dad already leave?"

"Yeah he said he had an early morning appointment."

"And Rachel? She's not in her room."

"Right here," she said, walking in. "Relax I know how to get myself up for school. You don't need to hover."

"Right sorry," Shelby replied. "Well I have to get going so you two are going to have to walk to school today. Please make sure you get there on time."

"Of course," Marley nodded as Shelby kissed her cheek.

"Have a good day girls," she said, walking out.

Rachel smirked. "Think we should skip?" Marley gave her a look and she rolled her eyes. "Just joking, relax."

"Did you ever skip when you were with your dads?"

She hesitated. "No. I loved school so I never saw a reason to. Plus, my dads were the kind of parents who knew everything I did before I did it. Stuff like that made it hard to get away with anything."

Seeing her sadness, Marley nodded before changing the subject. "We should go if we want to get to school on time."

They grabbed their backpacks and started walking. There was silence between them before Marley sighed.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I know your dads are a sore subject, I didn't mean to make you upset."

Rachel nodded. "It's okay. I'm actually glad you bring them up and don't try to act like they never existed like your parents do."

"What were they like?"

She thought for a moment. "They're a lot like how your dad is with you. We were really close and even though they worked a lot, they never failed to make sure I knew how much they loved me."

"What'd they do?" Marley asked, curiously.

"They were lawyers. They were pretty great at their jobs so I guess you could say we were well-off." She paused for a moment. "What does your dad do, anyway? He's never mentioned it."

"He's a psychologist. I don't think he mentions it because he's afraid you'll freak out and think he'll want to evaluate you."

Rachel shrugged. "Wouldn't be surprised if he did. Especially if your mom tells him to."

"You know, my mom really isn't that bad. You should give her a chance."

"No thanks. I haven't had a mom for the past sixteen years, I don't need one now."

Not knowing what else to say, Marley nodded as they continued to walk. When they got to school, Marley found her friends standing by her locker. She looked at Rachel.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked.

Rachel nodded. "Yeah I made a friend yesterday. I think."

The younger girl laughed. "Okay well if you need me you know where to find me."

She nodded as Marley walked away. When she got to her locker, Rachel heard commotion from the front entrance of the school and saw a mohawked boy being greeted by a group of boys.

As she put some books in her locker, Quinn walked over to her. "Hey I saw you with that girl. I guess you worked things out with her."

"Yeah pretty much. Who's that guy?" she asked, pointing to him.

"That would be Noah Puckerman or as everyone calls him, Puck. He's on the football team and I guess he's finally out of juvie."

Her eyes widened. "He was in juvie? For what?"

"No one knows for sure," Quinn shrugged. "Some say armed robbery, some say destruction of property. Stuff like that you'd have to hear from him directly which I don't recommend."

"Why, because he's a criminal?"

"That and the fact that technically he's Santana's guy."

"Technically?" she raised an eyebrow."

"All they really do is have sex on a normal basis, I would hardly call it dating. And Santana's not exactly nice to girls who even try to talk to Puck."

"Sounds like she thinks they're dating."

Before Quinn could respond, Puck walked over to them. "Quinn, long time no see. Do you know where Santana is? She texted saying she wanted an early morning quickie before class but I can't find her."

"First, ew," she replied. "Second, no I don't know where she is. Just check all the janitor closets, she might be waiting for you in there."

"Got it." He looked at Rachel. "New friend of yours?"

She nodded. "This is Rachel, she just moved here. Rachel this is Puck."

"Nice to meet you," Rachel said, trying to be polite.

"It's very nice to meet you. Maybe we can have a little action in the janitor's closet later on."

Disgusted, Rachel frowned. "Sorry, I'm not that kind of girl."

"That's a shame. With me you could be," he winked before walking away to join the rest of his friends.

Quinn laughed at Rachel's facial expression. "So first impression?"

"I think he thinks too highly of himself. Plus I don't date guys who just got out of jail."

"Smart girl," she smirked as they walked to class.

Later at lunch, Rachel was sitting with Quinn when Marley ran over to her.

"Uh, everything okay Marley?" she asked in confusion.

"I need your help." Noticing Quinn, she froze. "Oh you met Quinn. Maybe she's talked to you already."

"Wait you two know each other?" Rachel asked, looking between them.

Marley nodded. "Yeah Quinn's in glee club with me."

"But when I talked about her yesterday, you acted like you didn't know her," Rachel told Quinn.

Quinn shrugged. "I just wanted to see the relationship between you two since you were already new."

Nodding in understanding, Rachel looked back at Marley. "Now what did you need my help with?"

"So like I said I'm in glee club and we have an invitational coming up but we need more people to help us perform. And I've heard you sing in the shower and you're just what we need."

She shook her head. "I don't know, I haven't really sung in public since…you know."

"I think you should do it," Quinn said. "Especially if you can sing."

"Wait you're a cheerleader and you're in glee club?"

The cheerleader shrugged. "I like to sing and those guys are pretty cool. You'd be able to make more friends."

"Please Rachel?" Marley begged. "Plus this gets you out of the house and away from my mom more."

"Oh well then I'm in," she smirked. "Do I need to audition?"

"Yeah but we can help you with it if you want."

Rachel thought for a moment. "Actually I think I got this covered."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That afternoon, Rachel walked into the choir room where everyone was. She froze when she saw Santana and Puck in the room as well.

Noticing her, Santana smirked. "Oh, the hobbit is here."

"Easy Santana," the teacher scolded before walking over to Rachel. "Hi I'm Mr. Schuester, you must be Rachel. Marley told me you'd be coming by to audition."

"Yeah well I'm new here and I'm just trying to make the best of it."

"Well you've come to the right place." He walked her inside as he gathered everyone's attention. "Okay everyone listen up. Thanks to Marley and Quinn we have someone who wants to audition so Rachel has the floor."

As he sat down, Rachel looked at everyone in the room. Even though she hadn't sung anything in public since her dads died, this did seem like a place where she could escape to. Plus the less time she spent at home with Shelby the better.

She told the pianist and musicians the song she was singing before going back to stand in the middle of the floor. Taking a deep breath, Rachel started singing.

 _Something has changed within me  
Something is not the same  
I'm through with playing by the rules  
Of someone else's game_

 _Too late for second guessing_  
 _Too late to go back to sleep_  
 _It's time to trust my instincts_  
 _Close my eyes and leap!_

 _It's time to try defying gravity_  
 _I think I'll try defying gravity_  
 _Kiss me goodbye, I'm defying gravity_  
 _And you won't bring me down_

 _I'm through accepting limits_  
 _'Cause someone says they're so_  
 _Some things I cannot change_  
 _But till I try I'll never know!_

 _Too long I've been afraid of_  
 _Losing love I guess I've lost_  
 _Well, if that's love_  
 _It comes at much too high a cost..._

Puck watched in amazement. He could tell no one in the club expected her to actually be good because of all the bad auditions they've seen but to see that Rachel was actually talented, he knew she made it.

 _I'd sooner buy defying gravity  
Kiss me goodbye I'm defying gravity  
I think I'll try defying gravity  
And you won't bring me down_

 _I'd sooner buy defying gravity_  
 _Kiss me goodbye I'm defying gravity_  
 _I think I'll try defying gravity_  
 _And you won't bring me down_  
 _Bring me down_

 _Ohhhhhh, ohhhhhh_

Everyone but Santana immediately started clapping. Mr. Schuester looked at everyone who quickly nodded before looking back at Rachel.

"Wow uh welcome to the glee club!" he told her.

She smiled as Marley immediately got up and hugged her. "That was amazing. Pretty good for someone who only sings in the shower."

"Yeah, yeah," she rolled her eyes.

"Kurt, Blaine, Mercedes," Marley called to three of the members who walked over to them as the other members left the room.

"So this is the sister you've been telling us about," Mercedes smirked.

"Didn't you say she was a bitch?" Blaine asked before getting nudged by Kurt.

Marley looked away, embarrassed. "Sorry. It was when you first got here."

Rachel laughed. "Hey don't worry about it. I would've said the same thing."

"Well are you coming with us to get pizza?" Kurt asked.

"Uh, no thanks. Being the new kid means I have a lot of stuff to catch up on. Maybe some other time."

"You sure?" Marley asked. She nodded. "Okay well tell my mom I'll be home later."

"That'll be the only thing I say to her," she smirked.

Marley shook her head before walking out with her friends. Rachel went to grab her backpack but before she could leave, Puck stopped her.

"So you can sing. Who knew?" he grinned.

"Did you actually want something Noah?"

"Ah I see you've heard about me. But I prefer to be called Puck."

"And I'd prefer not to be here but we all can't have what we want," she rolled her eyes. Besides don't you have a girlfriend to tend to?"

He shook his head. "Santana isn't my girlfriend, we just like to fool around. You could be next, my offer from earlier still stands."

Seeing that he wasn't understanding, Rachel looked at him. "Look, I'm not one to beat around the bush so here it is: I got moved here against my will, put into a family I don't even know and got stuck going to a school with bullies like Santana. The last thing I need is someone like you who thinks you can snap your fingers and I'll do anything with you. I was raised better than that so I will pass on your offer and you can move on to your next target."

Without saying another word, she walked out of the choir room leaving Puck alone. Puck smirked to himself. He normally didn't get turned down but he had to admire the way Rachel did it. It only made him want to know her more and that was what he planned to do.

When Rachel got to the house, Shelby walked over to her. "Hi how was school?"

"It was fine. Marley's getting pizza with people from the glee club," she answered trying to go upstairs.

"Oh why didn't you go?" Shelby asked, stopping her.

"Because I have a lot to catch up on. That's what happens when you're dropped into a new school."

"Well can you follow me, I actually had something for you." She led Rachel into the living room and handed her a bag. "An officer brought this by. This is what they recovered."

Rachel took the bag and immediately recognized what was in it. They were her dads' belongings. There was just a watch and two golden wedding bands but it was enough to break Rachel's heart all over again.

"Thanks," she said, barely above a whisper.

"Rachel I'm here to talk if you need someone-"

"What I need is to be left alone. For once, can you do that? Just stop trying to fix everything because unless you have the power to bring back the dead, you can't fix this."

Rachel ran upstairs to her room and slammed her door before laying on her bed to cry. She felt like she was living some nightmare that she just couldn't wake up from and it made her miserable. This wasn't what she ever imagined her life becoming and no matter what she did to try to make it better, nothing was going to change what was happening to her.

 **Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone! Enjoy!**

Chapter 4

"You should've seen the look on her face when she got the stuff," Shelby told David as they laid in bed later that night. "It was like she was being reminded that they were gone and never coming back. I felt horrible."

"She didn't want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. "Not at all. She said she just wants to be left alone. I don't know how to handle this, David. I mean when Marley gets upset she actually wants to talk about things. Rachel doesn't and it's not something I'm used to."

"Well Marley's been with us from the moment she was born and actually knows us. We're still strangers to Rachel so it's going to take her time to feel comfortable talking to us. You just have to be patient."

"I just don't know how to make it so that she actually wants to get to know me. To her I'm this evil person that had her and just gave her away to people I didn't even know."

He thought for a moment. "Maybe talk to her about what it was like on your end. I'm sure her fathers talked to her about their side but maybe she needs to hear yours."

She smiled before kissing him. "I knew I married you for a reason."

They kissed again before hearing Rachel scream. They immediately got up and ran to her room to find her tossing and turning in her sleep.

"What's going on?" Marley asked from the doorway.

"I think she's having a bad dream," Shelby answered before trying to wake Rachel up. "Rachel sweetie it's okay. It's okay, I'm here. I'm here, it's okay."

Rachel opened her eyes and looked at everyone in confusion. "What's going on?"

"You were having a bad dream, honey," she replied, running a hand down her hair.

Immediately, Rachel's eyes filled with tears. "I saw my dads. I was with them the night they…"

As she started crying, Shelby hugged her. "It's okay, it's over. It's all over."

"Get away from me," she said, pulling away from her. "The last person I want comforting me right now is you."

"Rachel-"

"Marley, can you stay in here with me?" she asked.

Surprised, the teenager nodded. "Yeah of course."

Disappointed by Rachel's choice, Shelby nodded before getting up and leaving the room. David sighed before looking back at the teenagers. "Don't stay up too late."

As he walked out, Marley sat on Rachel's bed. "You know my mom was only trying to help."

"I already told her I don't want her help. I don't want either of their help, I just want my dads."

"Rachel I can't imagine what you're going through. I know it has to be hard and the most awful thing ever but you can't keep pushing my mom away like this. She really does care about you."

"She feels sorry for me," Rachel rolled her eyes. "The poor girl who lost her dads, now she has to live with the biological mother she never met and the perfect family the mother went and created after giving her away. My life might as well be a movie."

"It'd be a pretty terrible movie," Marley smirked, nudging her.

She laughed and wiped her tears. "Yeah it would. Can we just go to sleep?"

"Sure," she nodded as they laid down and eventually fell asleep. This time, Rachel stayed asleep the rest of the night.

The next day, the girls went to school after a silent, awkward morning with Shelby.

"We need some fun," Rachel said as they walked into the building. "I've been going through some pretty heavy stuff and I could use a night out or something. Maybe we could do it this weekend."

"Well what do you have in mind?"

"Anything that gets us out of the house and away from your parents. Maybe a movie night at someone's house."

"I heard someone mention a night out," Puck said, walking up to them. "I might be of service."

"You know, stalking is a crime," Rachel rolled her eyes. "Also the last person I'd want to be around at night is someone who just got out of juvie."

"You've been in juvie?" Marley asked with wide eyes.

He shrugged. "Yeah what can I say? I see something I want, I go for it and I guess it just got me in trouble. I'm hoping that's not the case this time, though."

Rachel felt butterflies in her stomach from the way he looked at her but shook her head. "No thanks. We'll just try to find something with our friends who haven't seen the back of a cop car."

As they walked away, Marley looked at Rachel and smiled. "I think he likes you."

"He'll get over it. I have no interest in dating right now, especially someone like him."

"That's usually how people end up dating," she smiled before going to her class.

Rachel shook her head and walked to her own class. When she got there she froze when she saw Puck sitting at the seat next to hers.

"You've got to be kidding me," she muttered before going over to him. "I've been here for two days and I haven't seen you in here once."

"Yeah I asked to get transferred into this class."

"To a Shakespeare class?" she raised an eyebrow. "You chose to use your free elective for this class?"

He smirked. "Yeah I've always thought Shakespeare was a cool guy. Hell my name is one of his characters."

"The name you made up for yourself is one of his characters," Rachel rolled her eyes before sitting down as the teacher came in.

"Okay everyone we will be working with sonnets," she said, writing it on the board. "Thanks to Mr. Puckerman joining the class we have an even amount of students so I'm going to pair you off and you are to do a presentation on the sonnet assigned to you and what it means to you."

Rachel sat there, silently hoping that she wouldn't be paired with the one person she wanted nothing to do with. But then again, nothing had been going her way lately so why should this be any different?

"Miss Berry and Mr. Puckerman," the teacher assigned, giving the pair a paper with the assigned sonnet.

Puck grinned. "Looks like we're going to be spending time together anyway."

"Don't you have a cheerleader to devote your attention to?" she asked, annoyed.

"Like I said, we're not dating and Santana likes to go to other guys and sometimes other girls anyway," he shrugged. "Tonight she'll be with one of them which gives us the perfect opportunity to go out and have that fun you were talking about."

"Okay I don't know what you don't seem to understand but I don't want anything to do with you. I thought I made that clear yesterday."

Quickly thinking of a different approach, Puck sighed. "Look I know you're new here and from what you told me yesterday it sounds like you could use a good time. I'm not saying it has to be a date or anything, you can even bring your sister and your friends. I just want to help make things a little better for you even if it's just for one night."

Surprised by the sincerity in his voice, Rachel thought for a moment. She had been going through hell and really did want a night of fun. If someone was offering it, why not take advantage of it?

She sighed. "Okay fine. But nothing illegal."

"Deal," he nodded. "You know, I do know how to have fun legally."

"We'll see," she rolled her eyes as the teacher continued.

At glee club that day, Marley walked over to Rachel. "Hey I just found out I have a big test Monday so I can't go out with you this weekend."

"No Marley you have to come. I can't be alone with him."

"You're going out with Puck?" she raised an eyebrow. "I thought he was the last person you wanted to be around?"

"Well he's offering the fun I'm dying to have so I'm taking a chance. Don't worry I told him nothing illegal."

"If he even knows any legal things to do," she smirked.

"I just need someone else to come. The last thing I want is for him to think it's a date."

"Why don't you ask Quinn?" she suggested.

"Ask me what?" Quinn asked, walking up to them.

Rachel looked at her. "Do you have plans for this weekend?"

"Well I'm supposed to be getting dragged to dinner with my parents and one of my dad's friends. Why, do you have something better in mind?"

"Puck wants to take her to have some fun and she doesn't want to go alone so he doesn't think it's a date," Marley explained.

Rachel nodded. "Plus, you're pretty familiar with him anyway so you could help me."

Quinn thought about it before nodding. "Sure, that's definitely better than going with my parents."

"Thank goodness," she smiled before Mr. Schuester walked into the room.

"Okay guys, let's get started. This week I want to focus on getting you guys out of your comfort zones. You do really well singing songs that you relate to but I want you to take a risk and sing something that you normally wouldn't find yourself singing."

As everyone started talking about what they were going to do, Rachel noticed Puck staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

"So what song will you be singing about me?"

She rolled her eyes. "I definitely won't be singing anything about you. If anything it'll be about how much I hate my life right now. Why are you in glee club anyway? You don't seem like the type to really like stuff like this."

"Well it was either this or get expelled for having drugs at school," he shrugged.

"Seriously?" Rachel raised her eyebrow.

"Yeah but luckily Mr. Schue convinced Principal Figgins to let me devote my energy to something constructive like glee club."

"Maybe hanging out with you this weekend isn't a good idea," she frowned.

Puck sighed. "Look I heard what you said earlier. Nothing illegal, I promise. It'll just be something fun to get your mind off your life for a night."

"Better be. By the way, Quinn is coming with me."

"No problem. I'll get Finn to come too so he can keep her occupied while I keep you occupied," he winked.

Rachel felt the butterflies in her stomach again and smiled to herself. Usually she wouldn't find herself even hanging out with someone like Puck, mainly because her dads would've disapproved. But maybe Puck would actually be someone she could at least consider a friend.

 **Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone! Rachel's dress is what she wore in the song Pumpin Blood. Enjoy!**

Chapter 5

That Saturday, Rachel was preparing to go out and she had no idea what to wear. Luckily, Quinn and Marley were around to help.

"Okay what about this?" she asked, coming out in another outfit.

Quinn stared at her. "I'm amazed at how you got away with wearing so many sweaters with animals on it at your last school."

"I went to a private school," she shrugged. "We didn't wear uniforms but no one really cared about what the other person wore."

"Well now that you're in public school you need to look like you're sixteen, not six."

Before Rachel could respond, David walked in. "Hey what are you girls up to?"

"Rachel's going out tonight and we're trying to find a good outfit for her," Marley explained. "But so far it's been unsuccessful."

He looked at Rachel. "Who are you going out with?"

"Just Quinn and these guys from school."

"Oh a double date," he nodded.

She quickly shook her head. "It's definitely not a date. As you've noticed I've been going through a rough time lately so I'm trying to make the most out of my crappy life."

He fell silent for a moment before responding. "Come with me, I want to talk to you for a moment."

As he turned and walked out, Rachel silently groaned before following him into his office. "Sorry I forgot how sensitive you and Shelby are about my feelings about this situation."

"It's not about that. Look I know this has to be the strangest experience for you but I just want you to know that you can talk to me. Not as a psychologist who wants to get inside your mind but as a father figure."

She stared at him. "Thanks, but I don't need a father figure or a replacement father for that matter. I had two fathers who loved me more than anything and made sure I knew that I was their world and I don't want a replacement. You can be the perfect father to Marley but don't think for a second you'll be anything to me other than my birth mother's husband."

"Rachel I'm not trying to replace your fathers," he sighed. "I know your fathers must've been great men because of the way you turned out and the last thing I want you to feel is like I'm trying to push them out of your memory. Maybe I can't be your stepfather or anything but I can at least be a friend."

Wanting the conversation to be over, she nodded. "Yeah got it. Is that it?"

"One last thing." He reached in his wallet and pulled out money. "Go get yourself something nice for tonight."

She raised an eyebrow. "Is there a catch to this? You want me to have a tracker in my cell phone so you can make sure I don't run away? I have to be nice to Shelby? What is it?"

"No catch," he shook his head. "Just have fun tonight. You deserve it."

Surprised, she nodded. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

"No problem," he smiled.

She looked at him once more before turning around and leaving the room. When she got back to her room, Marley looked at her.

"What happened?" she asked, nervous about the answer.

Rachel shrugged. "Nothing, he just gave me money to go shopping for an outfit for tonight."

"Perfect let's go then," Quinn responded.

They went to the mall and after many disagreements, Rachel finally found an outfit for the night. When they went back to the house to get ready, she looked at herself in the mirror and frowned.

"You guys I'm not sure about this," she said from the bathroom.

"Come on Rachel we picked out a good outfit," Marley replied. "Just let us see."

She sighed and walked out as Marley and Quinn's jaws dropped. "I look that bad?"

Quinn shook her head. "Not even close. You look hot."

"Really?" The girls nodded and Rachel smiled. "Thanks."

They went downstairs and Shelby looked at them. "You girls look nice."

"Thanks," Rachel replied before looking at David. "And thanks again for the money. Obviously I put it to good use."

He smiled and nodded. "Good I'm glad. Just have a good time and be safe."

She nodded before walking out with Quinn. Shelby looked at him and frowned. "How are you on better terms with her than I am? I thought you'd be the last person she'd warm up to."

"I just told her that I'm not trying to replace her fathers and I can at least be her friend," he shrugged.

She groaned. "She doesn't need us to be her friends David, she needs us to be her parents."

"And that's why she's not warming up to you. Honey she had parents and they're gone. What she needs right now are people who don't pressure her to let them into her life. This is all still new to her and she needs time to fully adjust. She'll get there but until then we have to just make her comfortable."

Shelby thought before nodding. As hard as this situation is, she knew David was right. If Rachel was ever going to open up to her, she would have to back off a little and let Rachel heal in her own time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rachel and Quinn pulled up to where Puck said to meet them and Rachel looked at the building, confused.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"You've never been to a nightclub?" Quinn smirked as they got out. "What did you do for fun in your old town?"

"I didn't really do much, I just mainly took dance and vocal classes. My dads spoiled me in the arts."

"Well I'm sure the dance classes might come in handy here. Come on."

They walked into the club and Rachel looked around in fascination. Everyone was just dancing to the music like it was a regular party.

As they looked around, Puck walked over to her. "Finally, you two made it."

"Yeah this is pretty cool," Rachel said. "I've never been to a place like before."

"Well allow me to show you around."

"What about Quinn?" she asked. He motioned behind her and she turned to see Finn talking to her. "Okay never mind."

He laughed. "Come on." He took her hand and walked her to the middle of the dance floor. "So what do you think? This isn't illegal."

"I can see that. When should we get together and work on our project?"

"Is that really what you want to talk about now? Come on, let loose and have some fun. It's what you've been wanting isn't it?"

Realizing he was right, Rachel nodded and started dancing with him. As they danced, she couldn't help but feel the butterflies coming back, especially when he touched her waist. She didn't know why she was feeling this way but maybe it was a good thing.

After they danced for what felt like hours, Puck took her over to a booth where they could sit. Rachel looked at him.

"So how often do you come here?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Every once in a while, when I feel stressed. It's a great place to forget about your problems."

"Tell me about it," she replied before Quinn and Finn came over to them.

"Hey are you having fun?" Quinn asked, sitting next to her.

"Surprisingly yes," she nodded. "I keep getting these butterflies when I'm with him and whenever he touches me. I don't know why."

"Maybe you need some time alone with him to find out."

Rachel shook her head. "I don't know, the whole purpose of you coming was so that I wouldn't have to be alone with him."

"But you didn't think you'd start feeling this way. Maybe you just need to feel things out with just the two of you. And I know just how to make it happen."

"How?"

Instead of responding, Quinn got up and walked over to Finn. "Hey the music is starting to give me a headache so I think I'm going to go."

"I can go with you," he replied quickly. "I mean, just to make sure you're okay if you don't mind dropping me off at my house."

"Sure," she nodded before looking at Puck. "Will you take Rachel home?"

"Yeah, no problem," he replied before walking closer to her. "Thanks, Fabray."

"Just don't make me regret it," she said before walking away with Finn.

Puck walked over to Rachel. "Hey Quinn has a headache so she's going home with Finn. I can give you a ride."

"Sure," she nodded as they left. When they got in his truck, she looked at him. "I'm not ready to go home yet, though."

He thought for a moment. "I know the perfect place." He drove to a nearby park and parked behind the trees. When Rachel gave him a questioning look, he shrugged. "Less chance of cops coming."

"So what did you do that landed you in juvie?" she asked.

He paused before shaking his head. "Story for another time. Besides I want to hear more about this life that you hate so much. What's your story?"

She sighed. "Well I had two gay dads who had me from mixing their sperm and getting a surrogate but they died recently so I got sent to live with my biological mom and her family."

"Woah wasn't expecting that. How'd they die?"

She looked down. "They were at a party for work but a fire broke out. They couldn't make it out."

Seeing she was getting upset, Puck put his hand over hers. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"It's okay. It's still new so it's still kind of hard to accept. Now I'm stuck with the birth mom I never knew and the perfect family she created after giving me away for money. It's too much to handle sometimes."

"Which explains why you needed to have fun so badly," he nodded in understanding. "Well I'm here to help anytime you need an excuse to get out the house."

"Really?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I'm not a total ass you know."

Rachel smiled. "I guess not."

Puck smiled back before his phone started ringing. When he looked at the caller ID, he froze. "Uh hold on."

He got out of the car and answered the call as Rachel looked around the car. When she looked in the backseat, she looked closer and found a red laced bra on the floor. She frowned in disgust. Just when she thought Puck was being genuine with her, she was reminded that he was just some guy who wanted a night with her, not a whole relationship or even a friendship.

When he came back in the car, he smiled at her. "So where were we?"

"You were about to take me home because you clearly have someone waiting," she replied, holding up the bra. "Santana maybe?"

He shook his head. "No of course not. I told you, Santana is just a-"

"Quick lay? Yeah, I've noticed. But I'm not like that and if you think I am you're dead wrong. So if you don't mind I'd rather you take me home now."

Seeing that she wasn't going to change her mind, Puck frowned and started the car so they could leave. When he reached her house, he looked at her. "Rachel I-"

"I would rather us just be partners for the project and people who work together in glee club, that's it. Just leave me alone."

She got out of the car and went in the house as Puck sighed to himself. He didn't anticipate having Rachel in his car so he didn't get the chance to check for anything that might upset her. All he wanted was to have a nice night with her but with her finding the bra in addition to the phone call he got while they were out, the night was ending in a crappy way.

 **Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello everyone! Enjoy!**

Chapter 6

When Rachel walked into the house, she sighed to herself. This wasn't how she anticipated the night going but at least she realized this now before she started growing real feelings for Puck.

As she tried to tiptoe up to her bedroom, she heard Shelby behind her. "How was your night?"

She looked at the older woman. "Were you waiting up for me?"

"No I was just up reading." When Rachel raised an eyebrow, Shelby sighed. "Okay maybe I was waiting up for you. I just wanted to make sure you got back safely."

"Well I did. You can go to sleep now," she replied, trying to go up the stairs.

Shelby stopped her. "Rachel I just…I'm trying here but it seems like I'm not doing anything right. Just tell me what I'm doing wrong."

She rolled her eyes. "You keep trying to be my mother. I haven't had a mom for sixteen years, I don't need one now. What I do need is for my dads to magically come back to life and rescue me from all this but that's never going to happen. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to bed and try to forget this night ever happened."

Without another word, Rachel turned and went upstairs to her room. Puck was supposed to be the little bit of good in her new life but now that that didn't work out, she was back to square one.

On Monday, she and Marley walked into the school. When she noticed Puck with his friends, Rachel quickly lowered her head and kept walking to avoid being seen.

Marley smirked. "You could just talk to him."

"So he can once again try to explain that it wasn't Santana's bra that I found in his backseat? Even if it wasn't, it still belongs to some girl and I'm not okay with that."

Before Marley could respond, Santana walked over to her. "Hey new girl. Heard you and Puck had a little date Saturday night."

"I wouldn't call it a date. It was just people hanging out."

"Yeah well whatever you call it, it ends here. You and Puck would never work out, especially when he's into more…experienced girls," she sneered.

Unfazed, Rachel stared at her. "I'm aware. I found your bra in the backseat of his car so maybe you should get that back from him. Not unless he's getting it from other experienced girls."

"Back off my man hobbit. Or I'll make your life a living hell."

"Little late for that but I look forward to seeing you try to top what I'm going through," she replied before walking off with Marley.

"Wow you actually stood up to Santana," her sister said, shocked.

Rachel shrugged. "Yeah well I used to deal with bullies like her in my old school all the time and I was always sad about it. With everything that's happened, I just feel numb so I could care less about what Santana says."

Marley nodded in understanding as the bell rang and they went to class. When she saw Puck sitting next to her seat, Rachel frowned and sat down as the teacher came in to start class.

"Heard you had a run-in with Santana," he whispered. "You okay?"

"Shouldn't you be asking her if she's okay? She's the one who has some kind of claim on you."

"She doesn't have any kind of claim on me, I told you we're not dating. The whole bra thing was a misunderstanding."

"How do you misunderstand something like that? It was stupid of me to think anything would happen with us so don't worry about it."

"Okay so let's take the period so you can work with your partners for your projects," the teacher told them.

Rachel sighed, seeing that she would be forced to talk to Puck. She turned to him as he started grinning. "What?"

"You wanted something to happen with us," he smiled.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah until I found that bra. Now I don't."

"Come on Rachel, give me another chance. I really do want to get to know you better."

Seeing that he wasn't giving up, she sighed. "I'll think about it. Now can we please work on this project?"

Satisfied with her answer, Puck nodded and they began to discuss the sonnet they were going to be working with. Even though she was still pissed about finding the bra, Rachel couldn't deny that she wanted to continue what she started with Puck. She just couldn't figure out if that would be a good idea.

When she got home later that day, she went home and found David in the kitchen cooking dinner.

"Since when do you cook?" she smirked.

"I've always been able to cook. Shelby just prefers to be the one to do it."

"So where is she? Upstairs in my room, trying to read my diary?"

"Come on give her some credit. She's probably done it already," he smiled. "How was school?"

She shrugged. "The way high school always is. Except it's public school which makes it worse."

"You went to a private school before?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah my dads wanted me to have the best of everything. The best dance and voice classes and the best schools."

"Guess that explains why Marley said you blew the whole glee club away with your audition."

"I guess so." She hesitated before continuing. "Can I ask you something? I'd talk to Quinn about this but I think I need an adult perspective and I don't know who else to talk to."

Surprised that she was being so open with him, he nodded. "Sure, what is it?"

"What do you do when there's someone you want to get to know but you're not sure if you should?"

Shocked by the question, David froze. "Uh well that depends on why you want to know that person and if they want to get to know you."

"And if they do?"

"Then I say what's stopping you? Don't let fear keep you from pursuing something or getting to know someone. Sometimes, taking a chance really does pay off."

Rachel considered this before nodding. "Got it. Thanks." She went upstairs to call Quinn. When she answered, Rachel got straight to the point. "I need your help."

"With Puck, I'm assuming?" Quinn asked with amusement in her voice.

"How do I tell him that he makes me feel something for him so him sleeping with other girls makes me feel weird? I've never been good with talking to boys so I don't know what to do or say to him."

Quinn went silent as she thought. "Well the benefit of being in glee club? You can say anything through a song."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In glee club the next day, Rachel took a deep breath as she prepared for what could be a very embarrassing moment for her. She's never had to express herself to a guy before and what she was about to do was going to put everything out there.

"Okay guys you've all done well with the assignment," Mr. Schue said, walking in. "But I want to see you push yourselves more."

Rachel raised her hand. "Mr. Schuester? I have a song that's a risk for me."

"Wonderful Rachel, let's hear it."

As he sat down, she went and stood in front of everyone. "Okay so this song is for a specific person who knows who he is."

She gave a cue to the band to start to play before quickly glancing at Puck then the floor.

 _You know just what to say  
Things that scare me  
I should just walk away  
But I can't move my feet_

 _The more that I know you, the more I want to_  
 _Something inside me's changed_  
 _I was so much younger yesterday, oh_

 _I didn't know that I was starving 'til I tasted you_  
 _Don't need no butterflies when you give me the whole damn zoo_  
 _By the way, right away you do things to my body_  
 _I didn't know that I was starving 'til I tasted you_

 _I didn't know that I... I didn't know that I... 'til I tasted you_  
 _I didn't know that I... I didn't know that I... 'til I tasted you_

 _By the way, right away you do things to my body_  
 _I didn't know that I was starving 'til I tasted you_

Besides Quinn and Marley, everyone in the club looked at each other, trying to guess who the song was directed towards but Puck smiled. He knew exactly who Rachel was singing to and he was fairly impressed.

 _You know just how to make  
My heart beat faster  
Emotional earthquake,  
Bring on disaster_

 _You hit me head on, got me weak in my knees_  
 _Yeah, something inside me's changed_  
 _I was so much younger yesterday, aye_  
 _So much younger yesterday, oh, yeah_

 _I didn't know that I was starving 'til I tasted you_  
 _Don't need no butterflies when you give me the whole damn zoo_  
 _By the way, right away you do things to my body_  
 _I didn't know that I was starving 'til I tasted you_

 _I didn't know that I... I didn't know that I... 'til I tasted you_  
 _I didn't know that I... I didn't know that I... 'til I tasted you_

 _By the way, right away you do things to my body_  
 _I didn't know that I was starving 'til I tasted you_  
 _You, yeah, 'til I tasted you_

 _I didn't know that I... I didn't know that I... 'til I tasted you_

 _By the way,right away you do things to my body_  
 _I didn't know that I was starving 'til I tasted you_

Finally, Rachel made eye contact with Puck as she finished the song, letting him know she meant every word. Seeing the connection, Santana glared at the brunette.

 _The more that I know you, the more I want to  
Something inside me's changed  
I was so much younger yesterday _

Everyone clapped as Mr. Schuester nodded. "Very nice Rachel."

"I thought it was rather boring," Santana sneered.

"You're the only one who thought that," Quinn replied to shut her up.

After practice was over, Rachel got up to leave but was stopped by Puck.

"That was pretty brave of you," he told her. "To do that in front of Santana."

"She really doesn't bother me. She's just a bully who I refuse to be intimidated by." She looked down. "What'd you think about the song?"

He lifted her head to look at her. "I think I got my second chance."

She smiled and nodded. "Don't blow it."

"Well a friend of mine is throwing a party this weekend. Will you be my date?"

"Sure," she replied before walking out of the room with him. Maybe David was right. Maybe taking a risk would pay off in the end.

 **Song is Starving by Hailee Steinfeld. Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello everyone! Enjoy!**

Chapter 7

When Puck and Rachel arrived at the party, she was immediately caught off guard when she saw the huge kegs.

"There's a lot of beer here," she said as they walked through the house.

"Yeah I mean it is a kegger," he replied.

"You brought me to a kegger? I can't go home smelling like beer, my birth mom will kill me and I'll never hear the end of it."

"Don't worry, they have water somewhere. Just stay away from the drunk idiots because they tend to be messy and spill drinks."

"I just hope you won't be one of those drunk idiots."

Puck smirked. "Of course not. I just got my second chance, I can't blow it again."

Rachel smiled and continued to walk with him through the party. As he greeted everyone, he also introduced Rachel to a few people which made her feel important. Like he wasn't ashamed to be there with her.

As the night went on, Puck made sure to show Rachel all the attention he could. He wanted to prove to her that he was into her and only her. It was easier said than done with Santana being at the party.

While Rachel talked to one of his friends, Puck walked away to fill his water bottle again as Santana walked over to him.

"Wow I never thought I'd see the day where you were drinking water instead of alcohol at a party," she smirked. "What gives?"

He shrugged. "I don't want to get drunk while I'm trying to impress Rachel. Have to keep it clean."

"You're seriously interested in the hobbit? What attracts you to her? The fact that she dresses like a toddler and a grandmother all at once?"

"Back off of her, Santana. She hasn't had it easy and you don't need to be such a bitch to her. Besides like I keep telling you, you and I are not together. We can see other people and in fact, we do so you have no reason to be upset with her."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. She'll get boring eventually and you'll come back. They always do."

Without another word, she walked away as Puck shook his head. He didn't think she'd give up this easily but maybe it was a good thing. Maybe he finally had a real shot with Rachel. When he got back to her, she was playing beer pong.

"Hey watch this," she smiled before tossing the ball into a cup. "I can't believe I've missed out on all of this."

He laughed. "I'm guessing you've never partied much?"

"No between school and my dance and voice lessons, I never had time to. Not that I ever wanted to anyway. I care way more about performing than anything else."

"Well it's paid off, your voice is amazing. Maybe we can do a duet in glee sometime."

She smiled at him. "You're really working to get back in my good graces, huh?"

"Pretty much," he smirked. "How am I doing?"

"Pretty good. Let's just see if you can keep it up."

"Well I don't know, I might hurt your feelings when I kick your ass in beer pong," Puck grinned before starting to play. When he felt his phone vibrate from a text message, he looked at who it was and immediately frowned.

When Rachel noticed, she tapped him on the shoulder. "Is everything okay?"

He put the phone back in his pocket. "Yeah everything's fine, don't worry."

As the night went on, Rachel had noticed Puck's mood changed after he got the message but she decided not to question it. When they left the party, she could tell his mind was elsewhere and she didn't know how to bring it back.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked.

"Shoot."

"Why don't you tell me more about you?"

He paused, trying to think of an answer before shrugging. "There's nothing to really tell. You already know I've been in juvie."

"Yeah but that's about all I know. I don't know why you went or how long you were even away for."

"It's not exactly something I like to talk about with people okay?"

Seeing he really didn't want to answer, Rachel nodded. "Okay. Well tell me about your family then. You already know about mine and the one I was forced into."

"Well I have a mom and a sister. My dad is…out of the picture."

"Well I'm sure they're happy you're home."

He shook his head. "We're not really that close. They survived just fine while I was gone, plus my mom kind of always knew I'd end up in there anyway so it's not like she was surprised."

"That's awful," Rachel frowned. "My dads were lawyers and they always said that while they saw some pretty bad people, they believed there was something good in everyone."

"I don't know about that. Some people are just pure evil. They don't have anything good or redeeming about them."

"You do. So you're not one of them."

Puck looked at her. No one had ever thought much of him and here was a girl who knew he'd been in juvie but still chooses to stay around. He didn't think it would really get to this point and now that it had, he wasn't sure how to feel about it.

Without thinking, Puck leaned in and kissed her. Shocked at first, Rachel still kissed back and was even more surprised when she found herself enjoying it. When they pulled away, she looked at him.

"Wow," she said. "I-I should go before someone wakes up and sees us out here. Maybe we can hang out tomorrow?"

He smiled at her nervousness. "I look forward to it. Good night."

"Good night."

When she got inside the house, Rachel was relieved to see that Shelby wasn't sitting in the living room waiting for her this time. She just wanted to take in what just happened with Puck. She didn't think he would actually kiss her and now that he had, she just wondered what the next step would be.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Rachel woke up the next day, she heard voices from downstairs so she got out of bed to see what was going on. When she got down there, she saw a man and woman standing next to an elderly couple at the door talking to Shelby and David. When they noticed her, they looked at her.

"Is this her?" the woman asked Shelby and David.

Shelby nodded. "Yes it is. Rachel, can you come down here?" She hesitantly walked down the stairs and faced the adults. "This is Rachel. Rachel this is David's brother and sister-in-law, Josh and Amy, and his parents, Joe and Margaret."

Rachel politely smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"We've heard so much about you," Margaret smiled. "You're the spitting image of your mother."

Noticing David and Shelby visibly cringe at the mistake of calling Shelby her mother, Rachel decided to spare them the embarrassment and simply nodded. "That's the first time I've heard that."

"Well it's certainly true," Joe followed.

"Well let's not keep you here by the door," David said, ushering them into the living room.

Marley walked over Rachel who looked confused about what was happening. "It's my grandfather's birthday and he said he wanted to spend it with all of us."

"Am I included in that? I mean, it's not like I'm related to him or your aunt and uncle plus I had something I wanted to do today."

"Okay first, technically you are related to them. Second, would this involve a certain guy with a mohawk?" she smirked.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "He kissed me last night and I just wanted to talk to him about it."

"Well I doubt you'll get out of this. Just give him a call instead. I'll cover for you and say you're in the shower."

"Thanks," she smiled gratefully before going back upstairs. When she called Puck, after a few rings he answered.

"Hey," he said in a sleepy voice.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay, I was already partially up. My mom had to let me know she and my sister were leaving for the day so I have the entire place to myself if you wanted to come over."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Apparently it's my sister's grandfather's birthday so he wanted the whole family to spend the day with him. Even though I'm not really related to any of these people, I have to stick around. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Not going to lie after last night I was looking forward to seeing you today but I understand. Not like I won't see you eventually."

Rachel smiled at his understanding. "So what are you going to do now that you have the house to yourself for the day?"

"Probably sleep. I've been having trouble doing that since I've been back."

"Well then I'm happy to let you rest. I guess I'll talk to you later."

"Yes you will. Good luck with the whole family time thing."

"Thanks I'll need it," she replied before hanging up and getting dressed.

Meanwhile, Puck tried to go back to sleep but sighed when he struggled. Since he got out of juvie, he had a hard time going to sleep. He had become so used to having to watch out for himself while he was in there that he hadn't gotten fully relaxed at home yet.

As he tried to sleep, Puck heard the doorbell ring and groaned before getting up and going downstairs to answer it. When he opened the door, he immediately froze.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Is that any way to greet your old man?" James Puckerman smiled. "You going to let me in?"

Puck hesitated before opening the door further so he could come in. "I'm sure you're not planning on staying so I don't see why you had to come in."

Ignoring the remark, James looked around. "Where are your mom and sister?"

"Gone for the day. Now what do you want Dad?"

He looked at his son. "Haven't you been getting my messages? I told you I was coming back plus I even had Andy call and tell you I was looking for you."

"And I told him to tell you whatever you're doing or planning, I'm not involved so leave me out of it."

James laughed. "Oh come on, son. You know you're my partner in crime, that's all you've ever wanted since I first left."

"Yeah when I was a kid and didn't remember how much of a dick you were to us. To me. I got my reminder when I went to juvie."

"All of that is in the past. I'm trying to make up for it now, Noah."

"Don't call me that," Puck frowned. "Only mom, Sara, and one other person can call me that."

"Okay fair enough," James said, holding up both hands. "You haven't told anyone about what happened that night have you?"

"No. Everyone just thinks it was armed robbery or destruction of property."

"Great. That'll make it easier for us to get out of this stupid town."

The younger man frowned. "I'm not going anywhere. I just got back."

"Yeah and you hate it here. I remember you kept saying that."

"That was before everything that happened. Now I'd rather stay than go anywhere with you."

"Well we're not going anywhere yet. But when the time comes I want my partner in crime to come with me."

"Stop calling me that too. Like I said, whatever you're planning leave me out of it now can you go so I can get some sleep?"

Seeing that he wasn't willing to listen at the moment, James nodded and started walking towards the door. He turned back to his son. "I'll be back. Hope your answer will have changed by then."

He walked out of the door as Puck slammed it behind him and groaned in frustration. He thought that once he went to juvie everything involving his dad would go away but obviously, his dad wasn't through using him yet. Now he had to figure out how to get out of it while trying to pursue Rachel and keep her in the dark about what was going on. Everything just became complicated.

 **Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello everyone! Enjoy!**

Chapter 8

After Rachel got dressed, she went back downstairs and joined the family in the backyard. When she sat down next to Marley, Josh looked at her.

"So Rachel tell us about yourself," he said. "Marley told us you joined glee club but that's about all we know."

"Uh there's not much to say. I'm a big performer and I hope to be a star someday."

"Big dreams," Amy smiled. "Have you considered going to a performing arts college?"

Rachel nodded. "I've thought about it but college hasn't exactly been on my mind lately."

"David told us about the men who took care of you," Margaret frowned. "We're so sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, my _fathers_ meant a lot to me," she replied, making sure they knew how to refer to her parents.

Seeing her mistake, Margaret quickly nodded. "Your fathers, of course."

"I guess we're all still trying to get used to this situation," Joe followed. "When David told us about you we had to admit we were surprised. We had no idea."

"Shelby never told you about me?" Rachel asked, glancing at Shelby who had a guilty look before looking back at them. "When did you find out about me?"

"I guess right before you came to live with them," Josh answered. "David had called us and told us what had happened and that he and Shelby wanted to take you in. I have to admit, all of us were taken completely by surprise so we weren't sure how this would work. But it looks like you guys are managing quite well."

"I guess so," she replied before getting up and grabbing an empty pitcher. "I'll make us more lemonade."

She walked back in the house and resisted the urge to slam the pitcher down. She knew she shouldn't be surprised that Shelby never mentioned her existence but she couldn't deny that it hurt that she didn't.

While she started making the lemonade, Marley walked in. "Are you okay? I hope they didn't offend you."

"It's not them, although I would like for them to refer to my dads as my dads, not the men who took care of me like I was some lost puppy they found on the streets. Your parents already do a great job of making me feel that way."

Her sister frowned. "I'm sorry, Rachel."

Before anything else was said, Shelby walked in. "Marley can you give us a minute?"

The teenager nodded before walking back outside as Rachel continued making lemonade. "I don't have anything to say to you."

"Rachel I'm sorry it came out like that. But you have to understand you were never really mine to begin with so I didn't think it was necessary to tell any of them. The only person who knew was David."

"Just stop. I'm not surprised you never told anyone. I just wish you would stop with this perfect mom act because you might be fooling them but you're not fooling me."

Shelby sighed. "I'm not trying to act like I'm perfect, I'm just trying to help you through this situation the best way I know how."

"I don't want your help. I don't want a single thing from you, I didn't even ask you to take me in. No matter what any of those people say out there, you're not my mother. You're nothing to me but a stranger who just didn't want to admit that she was so desperate for money that she had a baby for total strangers. I'm sure if they knew that they would agree that David could do a lot better than someone like you."

"Rachel," David scolded from the doorway. "That's enough."

She looked at Shelby once more before going back outside with everyone else as Shelby hugged David. "This was a mistake wasn't it?"

"No it wasn't. She's hurt, that's all. You two can move pass this."

She pulled away and stared at him. "She hates me. And why shouldn't she? I hate to admit it but she's right, part of me didn't want to tell your family I had a baby because I was afraid what they would think of me."

"Honey you gave two men a beautiful gift. Because of you she gained two parents who clearly loved her, there's nothing to be ashamed of." He kissed her. "Come on, let's try to salvage this day."

She sighed and nodded before following him back outside.

"So since it's my birthday I call the shots here, am I right Marls?" Joe asked her.

She laughed and nodded. "Yes you're right."

"I would like you and Rachel to sing me happy birthday."

"Joe don't put the girls on the spot," Margaret told them.

Rachel shook her head. "No it's okay. He's right, it's his birthday so what he says goes."

"I like you, you're catching on already," he joked.

Rachel looked at Marley who nodded, signaling that she was ready. As they started singing, they found a harmony with each other. When they finished, everyone smiled and clapped for them.

"You two sound beautiful," Amy told them. "And you seem to have bonded quickly."

"Well I loved my life with my dads but I have to admit it got lonely being an only child sometimes," Rachel replied. "I guess having a sister isn't too bad."

"Don't let her fool you guys, she hated me at first," Marley smirked as everyone laughed.

The rest of the day went well as Rachel got better acquainted with David's family. They were cool people to be around and she had to admit that she didn't mind being stuck with them for the day. But that didn't make her forget about how much she wanted to be with Puck, talking about what was going on between them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Rachel woken up by her cell phone the next morning, she was relieved when she saw that Puck had sent her a text asking her to meet him at the park that day. Excited, she quickly got up and got dressed. When she grabbed her backpack and went downstairs, David looked at her.

"Hey where are you going?" he asked.

"Just to Quinn's house to talk about a homework assignment," she lied. She didn't want to explain what was going with Puck before she even knew for sure.

He looked at her skeptically. "On a Sunday?"

"Yeah. It's due tomorrow morning and it's too complicated to explain over the phone."

David paused before finally nodding. "Okay well before you go there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

Having a feeling she knew what this was about, she sighed. "Yesterday?"

"Yeah. Look I know you're going through a rough time right now and Shelby isn't your favorite person right now but you need to take it easy on her. This is all new for her as well and you're not exactly making the situation any easier by snapping at her."

"Was I supposed to be happy that she didn't even care to mention that I existed? You're the only person she told."

"It's complicated."

"Not really. My dads loved to brag about me and everything I did as I'm sure you two love to do with Marley. Sorry I don't like the idea of being someone's dirty little secret."

"Rachel-"

"I'll back off, don't worry. But even if I do it doesn't change anything."

She turned and walked out of the house as David ran his hands over his face. He was at a loss of what to do about the tension between Shelby and Rachel. Maybe this was something only the two of them could fix.

When Rachel got to the park, she found Puck sitting on a bench and took a deep breath before walking over to him.

"Hey," she greeted. "You look well rested."

"Well I hope I would, I slept the whole day yesterday," he smirked. "How was the whole family day?"

"Let's just say I wish I was I was living with any one of those people instead of my birth mom."

"That bad, huh?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Are things really over between you and Santana?"

He quickly nodded. "Definitely. I mean not that there really was anything besides sex happening with us but that's all over now. I want a real shot with you."

"I want that too," she smiled. "So I guess we're doing this."

"I guess so."

"You know we still need to finish our project."

He groaned. "Oh I was hoping you wouldn't remember. Come on, you just agreed to date me and what's you think about?"

Rachel laughed before shaking her head. "Hey above all else I'm a good student who gets her work done. So we should get to work."

"Fine if you insist. We can go to my house, my mom is at my sister's soccer game. With my luck you'll end up meeting them."

"Would that that be so bad?"

He paused and looked at her. "I'll let you figure that out for yourself."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As they worked on the project at Puck's house, Rachel couldn't help but stare at him at times. She still couldn't believe she had decided to date someone like him and she knew if her dads were alive, they wouldn't have been so open to the idea so she was hoping David and Shelby would be a little easier.

"I know I'm good looking but I still need your help with this," he told her, noticing her staring. "You and I both know I only took this class to get closer to you. I definitely don't understand a word this Shakespeare guy says."

She rolled her eyes. "This is what happens when you just enroll yourself in a class because the girl you like is there."

"Hey it paid off didn't it?" he grinned.

She felt her cheeks redden as she looked back at her notebook. As they continued working, they heard the front door opening and looked up to see Puck's mom and sister walk in.

Puck looked at them. "Hey kid, how'd you do?"

"We won," the young girl smiled. "I scored the winning goal."

"Nice," he told her before looking at Rachel. "Rachel this is my mom and my sister, Sara. Guys this is Rachel, my…new girlfriend."

Rachel felt butterflies in her stomach at the sound of that as she smiled at them. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Maria replied. "I'm glad to see someone is actually encouraging Noah with his studies. I'm sure you're aware he's been to juvenile hall?"

"Mom really?" he frowned.

Rachel hesitated before nodding. "Yes he told me."

"And you're not afraid? Brave girl." Maria paused and looked at Rachel closer. "Are you Jewish?"

"Mom," Puck complained.

"Yes I am," Rachel nodded.

"Perfect. A nice Jewish girl is exactly what Noah needs. Maybe it'll keep him out of trouble this time. Let me know if you need anything."

"Thank you," she nodded as Maria walked away and Sara went upstairs. When she looked at Puck, she frowned when she saw how tense he was. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I was just reminded why I didn't want you to meet my mom."

"She really doesn't seem that bad."

"You're a guest, that's why. She always likes to say stupid comments about me being in juvie and I hate it. It's her way of being passive aggressive about it."

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

Puck sighed. "Ever since I came home, she doesn't really talk to me like she did before and sometimes she barely looks at me. It's like I'm not really her son anymore, just some guy living in her house."

Rachel frowned. "Wow I'm sorry. I'm sure that must be hard."

"I mean I know it's my fault I ended up there in the first place but I didn't think that once I got out she'd practically write me off."

"I guess both of our home situations suck. But at least we have each other, right?"

He looked at her and smiled at her attempt to make him feel better. "Right."

She smiled before leaning in to kiss him then getting back to work. Seeing how supportive Rachel was about the situation with his mom made Puck feel guilty for not telling her about his father but he knew now was definitely not the right time. Not when she just agreed to make their relationship official.

 **James returns next chapter. Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello everyone! Enjoy!**

Chapter 9

"His mom was just really distant after that," Rachel told Marley as they walked to school. "She would check on us every now and then but you could tell she didn't really want to have to talk to Noah."

"That's sad. I can't imagine having to live in a house like that."

"I can," she replied. "Have you noticed Shelby hasn't even looked at me since your grandfather's birthday?"

Marley frowned. "I'm sure it's nothing personal Rachel. She just thinks you two need space after that whole thing."

"What I need is to live somewhere else. Obviously I don't feel at home there and you and your dad are okay but I really don't want to have to see her every day."

"Well there isn't really much you can do about it."

"Unfortunately."

When they got to school, Rachel separated from Marley to go to her locker to grab her books. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was really bothered by the fact that Shelby seemed like she wanted nothing to do with her. If the woman wasn't truly invested in a relationship then she should've let social services put her in a foster home rather than keep up this uncomfortable charade.

Her thoughts were interrupted when her locker was slammed shut by Santana.

"Can I help you?" Rachel asked, annoyed.

"A source tells me you and Puck are dating. What part of stay away from my man didn't you get, midget?"

"According to him, he's not your man and there's nothing going on between you two. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm really not in the mood for your crap."

She tried to walk past her but Santana shoved her. Reaching her limit, Rachel quickly shoved her back.

"Hey!" Puck interrupted, stepping between them. He looked at Santana. "What the hell is your problem?"

"Just sending new girl a message. She's in over her head with you and she knows it."

"Santana stop. I'm not, nor was I ever your boyfriend. We just had sex but that's over now. Get over it and leave my actual girlfriend alone."

Not knowing what to say, the Latina shook her head and stormed off. Rachel shook her head as she put her bag over her shoulder. "I'm out of here."

She walked out the doors with Puck running after her. "You're skipping school? You?"

"I just can't deal with any of this right now so yeah I guess I'm skipping."

He nodded. "Okay let's go."

"You're coming with me?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, wouldn't want you to go by yourself. Plus, I know the perfect place to go," he said before leading her to his truck.

They left and Puck drove them to a secluded area overlooking the town. Rachel looked at him. "How'd you find this place?"

Puck hesitated. "I used to come here with my dad when I was a kid. And after he took off I caught the bus here whenever my mom pissed me off or something and imagined being anyplace else other than here."

They got out and went to sit on the bed of the truck. As they sat, he handed her a bottle and she looked at him skeptically. "I'm definitely not in that bad of a mood."

"It's root beer," Puck rolled his eyes, handing it to her.

As she drank it, Rachel sighed. "I'm starting to wish I got placed in a foster home instead of being sent to my birth mom. But then I would've been across town somewhere."

"And then you would've never gotten a chance to experience my awesomeness," he smirked. "Is it really that bad?"

"She hasn't even looked at me since I told her off at that family thing. I mean I know what I said was bad but it was the truth. She's ashamed of me so why even bother bringing me here in the first place? I didn't ask for any of this."

He put his arm around her and pulled her closer. "I know your situation sucks like hell but try to think of it this way: you'll be out of here in two years. Then you never have to come back or talk to any of them again."

"I'll want to keep in touch with Marley. She'll still be my sister."

"Well at least you'll have a choice." He paused. "So where do you want to go after we graduate?"

"New York. I want to be a performer and that's the best place to be for it." She smiled a little. "My dads used to always tell me they'd be in the front row to watch me perform in my first Broadway show."

Seeing the thought made her a little sad, he looked at her. "Well since they can't I'll be there."

She looked back at him in shock. "Really?"

"Yeah. I'll admit plays aren't really my thing but I'd definitely sit through any one that you're in."

Not knowing any better way to respond, Rachel leaned in and kissed him deeply before pulling away and laying her head on his shoulder. So far, taking a chance and being with Puck was paying off for her. She just hoped it would last.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After Puck dropped Rachel off at home, he went to his house and sighed in relief when he saw his mom didn't come home early today. The last thing he wanted to deal with was her comments about him skipping school.

As he got out of his truck, he saw in the mirror his father standing there. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I told you I'd be back."

"And I told you I'm not interested in anything you're planning that will land me in juvie again or worse, actual prison."

James shook his head. "Come on Puck, it won't land you there as long as you don't get caught like last time."

"Can you just go away? What if Mom came home and saw you?"

"I already checked and made sure she was at work still. Luckily for you, since you're skipping school with your girlfriend."

Puck froze. "How do you-"

"I saw you two at that spot I used to take you to when you were a kid. She's pretty, maybe she can help us out. Be a decoy or something."

"She's not helping with shit so leave her out of it."

Ignoring him, James shrugged. "How'd you manage to score a girl like that with the record you have anyway? Not many girls would go for a guy who had the kind of charge you had."

"She doesn't know," Puck admitted, looking down. "She just thinks one of the rumors is true."

"Because if she knew, there would be no way in hell that you two would be together. Classic," he laughed. "Well then I guess you're not in a position to say no to me then. Not unless you want your girlfriend to know everything that happened."

The younger Puckerman groaned. "Why can't you just have someone else help you?"

"I don't trust anyone like I trust my own son. Come on, you have to admit it'd be nice to leave this place behind and move on to bigger and better things. Of course you can bring that girlfriend of yours if you want. Just think about it."

He walked away as Puck kicked the wheel of the truck. Now his dad was threatening to tell Rachel everything about that night. If she found out there would be no question that she would break up with him. But how could he agree to leave with his father when he just promised Rachel he'd be there for her?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later that day, Rachel stared at the ceiling thinking about her day with Puck. She loved the way their relationship was so far and while she knew it was just the honeymoon phase she hoped nothing would change drastically later on.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Shelby call for her. "Rachel, can you come down here?"

She sighed before getting up and going downstairs. "Hey."

"How was school?" she asked with a knowing tone.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "If you already know I didn't go why not just start with that?"

"Wanted to see if you'd try to lie about it," Shelby shrugged. "Why am I getting calls from your principal that he saw you enter the school but then none of your teachers reported you present? What happened?"

"I just didn't feel like dealing with school today. I have a 3.86 GPA, it's not a big deal for me to miss one day."

The older woman sighed. "Rachel even if you are not feeling up to it you still have to go to school unless it is an actual illness."

"Well I was sick then. Sick of being here."

Before Shelby could respond, the doorbell rang. "We're not done." She opened the door and found a man standing there. "Hi, can I help you?"

"Hi my name is Jeff Michaelson," he told her. "I was a good friend of Hiram and Leroy Berry-"

"Jeff?" Rachel said, coming into his view.

"Hi Rachel," he smiled.

"Come in," Shelby told him, letting him in.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel asked.

"I wanted to check on you and see how you were doing. Make sure that everything was okay after…you know."

"Everything is fine, you can leave now," she replied coldly.

"Rachel," Shelby chastised. "Where are your manners?"

"I don't care," she told her before looking back at Jeff. "I don't want to see you and I would appreciate it if you left."

Without another word, she turned and went upstairs to her room as Shelby turned back to Jeff. "I am so sorry about that. I think she's just having a bad day, I just got home and I'm getting the wrath of it too."

"It's alright, I understand," he nodded. "And I'm sorry for showing up unannounced, I've just been wondering how she's been doing. I haven't seen her since the funeral."

"To say it's been hard is an understatement," Shelby told him as they sat down in the living room. "She's taking this very hard, understandably. You said you're a friend of her fathers?"

"Yeah, well co-worker and friend. I've known them for years and I've practically watched Rachel grow up."

Shelby nodded as she felt some sort of relief to finally meet someone who's known Rachel since she was a little girl. Maybe that could help her understand the teenager better and she could finally figure out how to reach out to her and make her feel comfortable with them. But she couldn't understand why Rachel reacted the way she did when she saw Jeff.

 **Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello everyone! Enjoy!**

Chapter 10

Rachel laid on her bed staring at the ceiling. She couldn't believe that Jeff showed up. She thought she'd never have to see him again and now he was in her living room talking to her birth mother. She had to know what they were talking about so she went and sat at the top of the stairs to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"From the way Rachel talks about them it sounds like Hiram and Leroy were great parents," Shelby said. "Perfect even."

Jeff shook his head. "Definitely not perfect. They had the typical issues with Rachel that fathers usually have with teenage daughters but they always got through it. I take it you two are not bonding?"

"That would be the polite way of describing it. Truthfully, everything is a mess with us right now. I start to think I'm getting somewhere then I do something to mess it up. Rachel doesn't trust me or even like me for that matter. I'm at a loss of what to do."

"Well I'm sure you understand how strange this situation is. She ended up being placed with the woman who gave birth to her but still doesn't know anything about her. Have you tried to get to know her?"

She shook her head. "Not as well as I should've. I just don't want to push her after everything that's happened with her."

"Maybe that's what you need to do. As far as she knows, you're a stranger to her. Let her see there's more to you than just her birth mother."

Hearing enough, Rachel got up and went down the stairs. "Why are you here?"

Jeff looked at her. "I told you I just wanted to check on you."

"Rachel what has gotten into you today?" Shelby asked. "I don't know why you're acting like this, especially to someone who's a friend of your fathers."

"Was he their friend when he convinced them to go to that stupid party that night?" she asked, looking at Jeff. "They were going to stay home and have date night with each other but you just had to come and convince them to go to that office party with you. Then you managed to make it out of the fire but they didn't and at their funeral you barely even looked at me. Now you care how I'm doing?"

He shook his head. "Rachel I-"

"You should've just let them stay home that night," she said with tears streaming down her face. "Then I'd still have my dads and you'd still have your friends."

Rachel shook her head and ran back up to her room as Shelby looked at Jeff. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"Yeah I figured she hadn't told you," he frowned. "She's not wrong though. I should've let them stay home."

"You couldn't have known that fire was going to happen. It's no one's fault, it was just a tragic accident. Rachel will understand that someday."

He nodded and looked down. "Yeah that's what my wife says. I'm seeing a therapist about everything and he said seeing Rachel might help me make peace with everything but I feel just as bad. I mean I may have lost my friends but a kid lost her parents."

Shelby put her hand over his. "Rachel will be okay. But I'm sure Hiram and Leroy wouldn't want you beating yourself up about the whole thing."

"I know. Look, I know things with Rachel might be tough right now but don't give up on her. She's stubborn and outspoken but she's the most ambitious, lovable teenager you'll ever meet. You just have to be patient with her and like I said, try to get to know her."

She smiled and nodded, appreciating the advice. Now she just had to figure out a way to get through to Rachel without pushing her away.

Later that night, Rachel needed someone to talk to so she tried calling Puck but never got an answer. To calm her nerves, she called Quinn.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey have you heard from Puck today?"

"No, last I heard he skipped school with you, didn't he?"

She sighed. "Yeah but I haven't heard anything since he brought me home. You don't…you don't think he'd hook up with Santana while we're together, do you?"

"Of course not. Especially not after how hard it was to get you to trust him in the first place. He's probably just dealing with some parole stuff, don't worry."

Deciding that reasoning made sense, Rachel nodded. "Yeah you're right, it's probably nothing. I just needed someone to distract me from the tragedy that my life has become."

Quinn paused. "You know, I've asked my dad about your situation and he said there should be a social worker assigned to check on how you're doing. If you're really not happy you could always tell the social worker and they'll put you someplace else."

"I know, I've already looked into it. There's supposed to be a home visit in two weeks but the woman in charge of my case says that if I'm that unhappy they'll put me in a foster home but it'll be in another town. While I hate that I have to live with my birth mother, I've already made a life here with you, Marley and Noah. I don't want to have to leave that and start over, especially when Noah and I have just started dating so I think I'm just going to try to stick it out until I graduate."

"Wow. Are you sure?"

"Not at all," Rachel sighed. "But I'm just now getting used to everything. I'm not ready to give up yet."

"Well maybe you'll be able to work things out with your birth mom then."

"Let's not get crazy here."

Quinn laughed as they started talking about something else. While she had a distraction, Rachel was still curious about why Puck wasn't answering her. They left each other on a good note so why did it seem like he was disappearing on her?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rachel walked downstairs the next morning, eager to get to school and find Puck. When she went into the kitchen, she stopped when she didn't find Marley at the table.

She looked at Shelby who was making coffee. "Where's Marley?"

"David gave her a ride."

"So he just gave her a ride and left me to walk?" she frowned.

Shelby shook her head. "You're not going to school today."

"I'm not?" Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"Nope. I took off of work today so you and I are going to spend the day together. What do you think?"

"I think I'd rather go to school."

"I promise it won't be that bad. Now eat something before we go."

Unsure of what was going on, Rachel fixed herself a quick breakfast. The last thing she wanted was to spend a day with Shelby after being ignored by Puck but she couldn't deny that part of her was interested in seeing where this was going to go.

After she ate, she and Shelby left the house. Shelby for a while until she stopped at a house.

"Why are we in Columbus?" Rachel asked.

"This is the house I grew up in. My parents and I lived here until I was fifteen then we moved to Lima." She smiled a little. "I remember I refused to talk to my parents for weeks because I was so upset with them for making me move in the middle of the schoolyear."

"I know the feeling," the teenager frowned. "But what's the point of this?"

"You're living with complete strangers. So I figured we needed a day to actually get acquainted."

"Following Jeff's advice I see."

"Well I thought about it and he made a good point. I'm your birth mother but that's it. We don't know anything about each other and I think it's time that we start learning."

Realizing there was nothing else she could do about this, Rachel sighed and nodded. "Okay I guess you're right. So you're going to take me to all the places from your childhood?"

Shelby shook her head. "Not all. Just my favorite ones."

She started the car again and drove off to an empty park. Rachel stared at her. "Don't tell me you played basketball here."

Seeing her pointing to the basketball court, the older woman laughed. "No I was hardly athletic. My mother used to bring me here and we'd swing for hours, talking about random topics."

"Where are your parents anyway? I've met David's family but not yours."

"My father died when I was in college and my mother died a few months before I met your fathers."

"Really?" the teenager frowned.

"Yeah I guess you could say I was a bit lost after my mom died. I mean losing my dad was hard but my mom was my rock so when she died too I just needed something to numb the feeling."

"And that something was my dads?"

She nodded. "When I met them I had made up my mind that I was going to go to New York and pursue my dreams but I didn't have any money to do it. They seemed like nice people and I was desperate so I went for it. Being pregnant meant that I wasn't alone anymore and when I had you, I handed you over to them and just like that, I was alone again. The most awful feeling in the world."

"I can relate. That's all I've felt since my dads died." She paused. "When did you meet David?"

Shelby smiled. "I actually knew him in college. We met in my sophomore year and dated briefly but broke up when my dad died. I didn't know how to handle the emotions I was feeling and keep my relationship a priority so I broke up with him. After I had you I went to New York to have a shot at Broadway but it didn't make me feel any less empty so I came back to Lima where I ran into David at a grocery store."

"Wow that's really cheesy," she laughed.

"I know but I guess these things do happen. We reconnected and before I knew it, we were married and I was pregnant with Marley."

Rachel hesitated. "Did you regret it? After you had Marley, did you ever wish that…"

"That I'd kept you?" she finished. Rachel nodded. "Sometimes. When I was in New York I tried not to think about it but after Marley was born, it was all I could think about. Every milestone she reached I wondered what it was like for you to reach yours, I searched for your face everywhere. I couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if I had just kept you for myself but I kept telling myself I did the right thing. And from what I can see now, it seems like they've done a pretty good job."

"Maybe you should've checked," she muttered. "I mean clearly you didn't care enough to at least check and see if I was okay."

"I didn't think I needed to. Your dads really did seem like great men and-"

"Exactly. They _seemed_ like great men. You barely knew them, you didn't really know. You could've been giving me away to murderers or something."

"Rachel-"

"And yeah they did an amazing job. As soon as I started singing along with the melodies of the songs on the radio they put me in the best vocal lessons and then the best dance classes. Any dance competitions or singing competitions I was in they were there in the front row cheering me on. We made plans that I would get them front row tickets to my first Broadway show because that's where they always are when I perform but now that'll never happen."

Not knowing how to respond, Shelby looked down and stayed silent. It was hard to figure out what to talk about with Rachel without her getting upset but this was the furthest she's ever gotten with her before she broke down. Even though Rachel was upset now, Shelby was happy that she at least got somewhere with her. Maybe she could keep it going the rest of the day.

 **Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello everyone! Enjoy!**

Chapter 11

When they went to grab lunch, Rachel was still giving Shelby the cold shoulder and Shelby was starting to grow frustrated. Her plan was failing and she had no idea how to save it.

As they ate in silence, Shelby decided to try from a different angle. "You know, I remember the day you were born."

"You do?" Rachel asked, shocked.

"Of course. I was so scared and the whole time, I just wished my mom was there to help me. Instead I was on my own. Your dads didn't show up until after so I had to just make myself relax so I could do my job and bring you into the world. The minute you came out I knew you'd be a singer with the lungs you had."

"Yeah, my dads used to say that I had the strongest cries they've ever heard," she said, smiling a little.

"I know you miss your fathers and the last thing I want to do is minimalize how you're feeling. I know what it's like to lose both your parents."

"You don't know what it's like to lose them at the same time. You at least had your mom for a while longer after your dad died. Both of my dads were gone in an instant and left me alone."

Shelby hesitated before putting her hand over Rachel's. "That's the thing. I don't want you feeling like you're alone because you're not. You have me, you have David and Marley. We care about you and want to see you happy."

"I _can't_ be happy right now," she replied with tears in her eyes. "I lost my dads. They're never coming back, I can't be happy knowing that."

"You're right," the older woman nodded. "You're absolutely right. You have every right to be as upset, as pissed off at the world as you want to be because it is an unfair situation. But I want you to know that you do have people who are here for you and care for you. No matter how much you push us away, we'll still be here."

Looking at Shelby, Rachel could tell that she was telling the truth. But while she wanted to let her birth mother in a little more, part of her still hasn't fully accepted her situation. Instead of responding, Rachel just nodded and wiped her eyes before finishing lunch.

The rest of the day went fairly well. Shelby was actually getting to know Rachel better and Rachel was finally starting to see that maybe Shelby wasn't the monster she's been imagining her being. Maybe their relationship had some hope of actually being better.

When she got home, Rachel's phone rang Puck's ringtone. Part of her wanted to ignore him like he had been ignoring her but she knew that wouldn't solve anything so she sighed and picked up the phone.

"Hello stranger" she answered, sarcastically.

"You're pissed as I expected. I know I've been hard to reach the past two days-"

"Hard to reach? You've been ignoring me when I really needed someone to talk to. What were you even doing, screwing Santana?"

"What? No of course not. Look I've been dealing with some stuff and I didn't want to involve you in it because you have your own issues."

"So instead of telling me that, you ignore me. Great."

"Rachel-"

"I have to get ready for tomorrow, I'll see you at school," she said before hanging up on him.

The last thing Rachel wanted to deal with was Puck's excuses. As far as she's concerned, he should've answered her when she needed him but he chose to ignore her so she didn't want to listen to anything he had to say.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At school the next day, Rachel stood at her locker thinking about her day with Shelby. That morning, they had actually talked to each other and got along. Maybe that day with her was the step in the right direction they needed.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Puck approached her. She rolled her eyes. "I thought I made it clear I didn't want to talk to you."

"I think we both know how hardheaded I am. Come on, Rachel you can't still be mad at me?"

"I can't? You had just promised to be here for me then that same night you don't answer any of my calls or texts. I think I have the right to be mad at you right now."

"Not if you let me explain."

The bell rang and she closed her locker. "No thanks."

Puck sighed as she walked away. He knew she'd be pissed at him but he didn't realize she'd be this upset. Looked like he had some serious making up to do.

As they gave their presentation for their Shakespeare class, Puck could tell Rachel was trying not to look at him. The fact that they were presenting about a love sonnet didn't help the situation. Rachel hated that she was supposed to be mad at him while they were discussing something so romantic.

When class ended, she tried to rush off but Puck stopped her. "You're not leaving until you hear me out."

"I don't want to hear you out, why don't you seem to understand that?"

"Because I saw the way you were when we were giving our presentation. You want to hear me out so we can make up and this fight can be over."

She sighed at Puck knowing exactly how she was feeling. "We haven't even been dating a month and you can already pick up on something like that?"

"I read body language very well," he smirked. "Now will you hear me out?"

"After school," she replied. "I'll be at your truck."

Without another word, she walked away to go to her next class as Puck breathed a sigh of relief. After school, Rachel went to wait by Puck's truck. While she waited, Marley walked by.

"Hey is Puck giving you a ride?" she asked.

"Yeah why?"

"I'm going to help Aunt Amy at her store. She offered to pay me."

"She has a store?" Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah it's a boutique. It's pretty popular, you should come by sometime."

"Sure. See you at home."

Marley nodded and walked away as Puck walked up to her. "Good you're here."

"I told you I would be."

"Yeah I wanted to make sure you wouldn't change your mind or anything. Let's go." They got in the truck and Puck drove to their spot. After he subtly checked to make sure his dad wasn't around, he parked and looked at Rachel. "I had a good reason for not answering you."

"That would be?"

"My dad showed up."

Her eyes widened. "What? When?"

He hesitated, knowing she was probably about to be even more mad. "That day you were hanging out with your family and I told you I was sleeping the whole day. He showed up out of the blue."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, more hurt than angry.

"I didn't want to worry you. You're already dealing with your own crap, I don't want to put my baggage on you. Not to mention he's not the kind of guy I want around my girlfriend. He's not a good guy and I don't want to get you mixed up in that."

"So what happened?"

Puck looked at her, contemplating whether or not he should tell her about his dad wanting him to leave. But to tell her that would mean having to tell her about his past and how he ended up in juvie which he still wasn't ready to do. "He just started harassing me and my mom and sister. Like I said, he's not a good guy so I've been using the past few days to get a restraining order against him. I haven't been talking to you because it's just been really stressful to deal with and like I also said, you're dealing with your own crap right now."

She frowned. "Noah you can talk to me when you're dealing with something. I may be going through hell right now but if we're going to be in a relationship, we have to be able to lean on each other."

"You're right and I'm sorry."

Rachel paused before smiling. "Apology accepted just don't do it again."

"Got it," he replied before leaning in and kissing her deeply. When he pulled away he grinned. "I've been waiting to do that."

She stared at him for a moment before getting an idea. "Let's go to the bed."

Surprised, Puck decided not to question it and nodded. After they moved to the bed of the truck, Rachel climbed on top of him and began to make out with him as Puck became surprised and confused at her actions. She went from being pretty pissed off at him to making out with him on the back of his truck.

He pulled away for a moment. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine why?"

"Well this is the most physical you've been with me since we started dating and a minute ago you were pissed at me. I just want to make sure it's not because you thought I was screwing Santana when we weren't talking."

She sighed and sat up. "I told you I forgive you for not talking and yes I thought you were with Santana but you told me you weren't so I believe you."

"So what's going on?"

"Look ever since my dads died I've just been angry and sad most of the time. I want to feel something else other than that and you can help me."

"While I'm all for using sex to cope with things, something tells me that it would be your first time doing it."

Rachel frowned. "It's that obvious that I'm a virgin?"

He sighed. "No but everything I know about you speaks for itself. You had two dads who were clearly involved in your life, you went to private school and you spent most of your time in dance and singing lessons. Doesn't leave much time for boyfriends and you're definitely not the type to have a random hookup."

"So you don't want to have sex with me because I'm a virgin?"

"No I want to have sex," he quickly replied. "I just don't want you to do it just because you're trying to deal with your situation."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I appreciate your consideration but seriously stop treating me like a fragile bird. If I want to do this, I mean it. You don't have to tell me no because you think I'm not in the right mindset."

Seeing how serious she was about this, he nodded. "Fine but we're not having sex here. At least not yet."

"Deal," she giggled. "So can I continue?"

"Of course," he replied, pulling her back down to kiss her.

In the back of his mind, Puck was relieved that she gave in. He thought he could get her to realize that she really didn't want to have sex but it didn't work. As much as he wanted to be with her, he knew it wouldn't be right to share such an intimate experience with her when he was still lying to her about why his father was there and his record from juvie. If she was really serious about them having sex, he'd have to figure out a way to prolong it while trying to decide how to tell her the truth about everything.

 **Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello everyone! Enjoy!**

Chapter 12

Rachel tried to sneak into the house after Puck dropped her off. She was sure Shelby and David would be on her case about her missing dinner so she wanted to avoid the questioning. But as soon as the light turned on, it was obvious that she was caught.

"Have a good time?" Shelby asked.

"Okay you guys can't seriously be this mad about me missing dinner can you?" Rachel asked, hoping to get some sympathy from David.

He shook his head. "Normally we wouldn't be but also finding out that you're dating Noah Puckerman leaves us to worry about what you were doing this whole time."

Realizing that Marley must have told them, Rachel tried to think of a way to spin this so she wouldn't be in trouble. "Okay so you're mad that I was with my boyfriend? Am I not allowed to date?"

"You know that's not the point," Shelby replied. "If you want to date we have to meet the boy. But considering we already know all about Noah."

"Oh so I'm guessing you know about his record."

"Yes we do and we think you should explore your options," David suggested.

"Thanks for your opinion but you two don't really get a say in who I date. Maybe with Marley you do but with me you don't."

Shelby sighed. "Rachel Noah has been in jail-"

"Juvenile detention center and so what? You've never made a mistake before?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Not one that's landed me in juvie. We just think that with everything you're going through right now the last thing you need is a boy like that."

"Well last time I checked, he's actually been helping make this situation better so you should be thanking him instead of criticizing him. Especially when you don't know the full story."

"Do you?" David asked. "Did he tell you why he was in juvie?"

Rachel hesitated. Puck refused to talk about juvie or how he ended up there so she really didn't know the full story herself. "No but that's none of my business."

"It is if you two are going to be dating. We just want you to be careful about who you're surrounding yourself with."

"Look I get that you two are trying to be the concerned parents or whatever but I really like Noah. I'm not going to stop seeing him just because you have some opinion about him that might not even be true. I know him and he would never do anything to hurt me. That's the end of it," she said before turning and going upstairs to her room where she found Marley sitting on her bed.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't realize you were intentionally keeping Puck a secret," Marley quickly told her. "They were just asking where you disappeared to after school and I thought it was okay to tell them."

Rachel nodded in understanding. "It's okay I probably should've told you that I was keeping him a secret. I just hate that they think they can tell me what to do like they're my parents."

"Well they are your guardians at least. Would your dads have had a problem with you dating Puck?"

She sat on her bed as she thought about it before smiling to herself. "Yeah they would've. But they would've at least agreed to meet him and see what he's really like before they passed judgment. Plus they were lawyers so they would've more than likely have already known why he was arrested."

"I can't believe he still hasn't told you."

"Honestly I'm not sure if I even want to know. What if it's something horrible like murder?"

Marley shook her head. "I doubt he'd be out so soon if it was murder."

"It had to be something bad otherwise he would tell me."

"Why not just try asking him again?"

She shrugged. "Every time I bring it up he gets all tense and wants to change the subject."

Her sister thought for a moment. "Maybe he just has to know that you won't judge him for what he's done. Then he'll feel more willing to tell you."

Rachel shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Puck worked under the hood of his truck the next day when he heard footsteps approaching him.

He looked up and saw Andy. "What do you want?"

"You got a restraining order on your dad?" he raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think you're being a little extreme?"

"Not at all. I don't want him anywhere near me and now he can leave me alone."

"What happened? You two used to be close."

"That was before I got arrested. Now I just want him to go away so I can get back to my life and focus on getting the hell out of this town."

Andy laughed. "Your dad was offering you a way out even with your girlfriend. Why not take it?"

"Because while I don't have anything to stay for, she does. I'm not going to put her in a position where she has to choose between me and her family. Unlike my dad I'm not a selfish prick."

"Wow you must really like this girl. That's a shock."

"Shut up. And stop talking to my dad about me."

"Well since you decided to get the restraining order I have to play messenger between you two which brings me to why I'm here. Your dad wants you to drop the restraining order or else."

"Yeah I don't really give a shit what my dad wants. I'm not dropping anything and you can tell him I said that."

Before Andy could respond, a car pulled up. Puck held onto the wrench in his hand just in case it was his dad violating the order but when he saw Rachel get out of the car, he let it go.

"Don't say shit," he quickly told Andy before Rachel reached him. "Hey I thought I wasn't seeing you until tonight?"

"I wanted to come talk to you now but David insisted on driving me and he's about to walk over here so I'm sorry in advance for anything he says," she replied as David walked over to them.

"Noah is it?" he smiled. "I'm David Rose, Rachel's guardian."

"Nice to meet you. I'd shake your hand but you know," he said, motioning to the grease on his hands.

"No problem. Listen since you and Rachel are dating, my wife and I thought it'd be a good idea to have you over for dinner tonight if you're not busy."

"Even though I already told both him and Shelby that we already had plans tonight," Rachel added, clearly annoyed.

Puck quickly considered the idea. Knowing Rachel, she'd probably try to get them to have sex if they hung out that night and the dinner could be the perfect way of pushing it off. "Sure, I don't see why not."

"What?" she asked, shocked.

David smiled. "Perfect. Dinner is at seven so make sure you're there on time."

"Absolutely," Puck nodded.

As David got in the car and drove away, Rachel glared at Puck. "Why did you do that? You just opened yourself up to being interrogated the whole night."

"Hey I had to meet your family eventually so now we can get it out of the way. Plus, you met my mom and sister so it's only fair."

She groaned knowing that he was right before noticing Andy. "Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation."

"Rachel this is Andy, a family friend. Andy this is my girlfriend, Rachel."

"Nice to meet you," she smiled.

"Pleasure. You know, you're way too pretty to be into this guy."

Rachel giggled as Puck glared at Andy before looking back at Rachel. "Hey can you run in my house and get me some lemonade? My throat's dry."

"Sure," she nodded before walking away.

Once Puck made sure she was in the house, he punched Andy in the arm. "Asshole."

He laughed. "Hey not like it wasn't the truth."

"Can you just get out of here and go tell my dad to leave me the fuck alone?"

"Okay but you know it probably won't work. Your dad is persistent. He probably won't let up until you let go of that restraining order."

"Not happening. Now go."

Andy shook his head before walking away as Rachel came back outside and handed Puck the drink. "Here you go."

"Thank you."

"Even though I should be mad at you right now," she frowned.

He sighed. "Rachel come on, a dinner with your family isn't that big of a deal, we can always hang out alone another time."

"I just had something important that I wanted to talk to you about."

He took her hand and led her over to sit on the porch stairs. "Okay well we're alone right now so talk to me. What's wrong?"

"I just…I wanted you to know that you can tell me anything and I won't judge you. I mean my life is pretty messed up right now so I'm in no position to judge anyone."

Immediately, Puck knew what Rachel was doing. She wanted him to tell her the truth about him being arrested and he wanted to but looking at her, he couldn't bring himself to say the words. Instead, he nodded. "Okay good to know. But we only have two hours before we have to be at dinner with your family and you have to give me a quick rundown of everyone's personalities."

Seeing that he was still avoiding the subject, Rachel sighed. "Why? I can just tell you what to say?"

Puck smirked. "Thanks but I think I've got this one covered."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That night, the dinner was going well so far. Rachel was still annoyed that Puck passed up an opportunity for them to be alone. The last thing she wanted was to sit through a dinner with him and Shelby and David.

"So Noah how's your mom enjoying you being home?" Shelby asked.

He shrugged. "I'd say she's indifferent to it. All that stuff that happened kind of changed our relationship for the worse."

"Don't be too hard on her. Going through what she did can be hard on a mother."

"Shelby," Rachel glared at her. "I don't think Noah wants to talk about that."

"No it's okay I don't mind," Puck assured her before looking back at Shelby and David. "I know you guys have some reservations about me and Rachel dating so I'd rather you just be straightforward with me, if you don't mind."

Shelby and David looked at each other in shock before David cleared his throat. "Well we're not too happy about the fact that you two have been dating in secret."

"Can you blame us?" Rachel rolled her eyes. "Look at what you're doing right now."

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you," Puck replied. "It was Rachel's decision at the end of the day and I just wanted to honor her wishes. I realize now that we should've told you."

Rachel stared at him in amazement as Shelby and David nodded in appreciation. She couldn't believe Puck was doing so well on his own. No wonder he didn't want her help earlier. As the rest of the night went on, Puck did well with the questions and concerns Shelby and David brought up. By the end of the night, the two adults seemed like they were even supportive of the teenagers dating.

As Rachel walked Puck to his truck, she looked at him. "I can't believe how great you did in there."

"I told you I had it taken care of," he smirked. "Before he left my dad taught me a few things about how to handle a girl's parents."

"Well it definitely worked. I don't think they'll be worried about us being together anymore so now I'll be able to hang out at your place tomorrow night without any argument," she smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Puck saw what she was doing and quickly thought of an excuse. "Um actually I'm babysitting Sara tomorrow night so if you come over we'll be playing games with her the whole night."

She rolled her eyes. "Seriously? I know you just don't want to be alone with me. That's why you agreed to this stupid dinner, because you don't want there to be any chance of us having sex."

"I just don't want to rush into this so soon. We can take our time with this."

"Did you take your time with all the other girls you've been with?" she asked. When Puck hesitated, she frowned. "I didn't think so."

Puck groaned as she started walking away from him. "Come on Rachel, I'm just trying to think about you."

"Oh really? Well if you are trying to think about me you'd stop acting like being with me is the last thing you want to do."

"That's not what it is-"

"And why do you refuse to tell me why you went to juvie? I'm your girlfriend, you can trust me with something like that but you won't. It's like you're keeping me at a distance and I don't understand why."

"I just…I'm not ready to talk about it."

She nodded. "Of course not. Good night Noah."

As she walked back inside, Rachel resisted the urge to run back to Puck and apologize for fighting with him. As much as she hated it, she wanted to know why he was being so secretive with her and rejecting her advances. All the secrecy was starting to make her question if she really made the right decision about taking a risk and dating him and that was what she hated the most.

 **Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello everyone! Enjoy!**

Chapter 13

When she woke up the next day, Rachel looked at her phone and found a text message from Puck, apologizing for last night. She sighed to herself. She appreciated the apology but she wanted Puck to talk to her which he wasn't. It made her feel like he really didn't want to have a relationship with her.

As Rachel laid in bed contemplating whether or not to respond to his message, Shelby knocked on the door before opening it slightly. "Hey are you up?"

"Yes," she replied, sitting up as Shelby came in. "Want to give me your comments about Noah since you weren't able to do it last night?"

"Well that's part of it. You ran upstairs so quickly after he left David and I didn't get a chance to talk to you. Is everything okay between you two?"

Rachel looked away. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"Okay well if you do end up wanting to talk, I'm here to listen. He seems like a really nice young man who just made a mistake so I guess you were right."

"I'm starting to think that's not the case," she muttered.

Shelby frowned. "Rachel what is it? You can tell me."

Realizing she needed someone to talk to about the situation, Rachel gave in. "He won't tell me what landed him in juvie and it's starting to really bother me. Should it? I mean, is it really any of my business?"

"Well if you're dating I'd say that you have a right to know. Especially if it could interfere with your safety."

She sighed and nodded. "I guess you're right."

"If you want we can revisit this conversation later. But right now, you have to get dressed. Your social worker will be here in an hour." Seeing Rachel's confused expression, Shelby raised an eyebrow. "The home visit is today, did you forget?"

"I thought that wasn't for another few weeks?"

"Nope it's today. So get ready."

Rachel nodded as Shelby got up and left the room. As she got ready for the social worker, she thought about what could happen during this visit. As much as she hated the living situation before, she couldn't deny that things have gotten better with Shelby. And even though things were strained with Puck, Rachel wasn't ready to give up and leave him behind.

The visit was uneventful. The social worker asked about how things were in the house and took a walk around examining the environment Rachel was in. Towards the end, she talked to Rachel one on one to make sure everything was okay and once Rachel reassured her, the social worker spoke with the family one last time before leaving.

After the visit ended, Rachel checked her phone and saw that she got a text from Puck asking her to come over. As much as she wanted to keep ignoring him she knew that wasn't going to solve anything.

As she started heading out the door, David stopped her. "Hey where are you off to?"

"Going to hang out with Noah. That okay or do you plan on having another family dinner to get more dirt on him?" she smirked.

He chuckled. "Very funny but that's not necessary. I just wanted to say that I know we gave Noah a hard time but it's only because we want to make sure you're safe. We can't have you surrounding yourself with potentially dangerous people."

"I understand. Can I go now?"

He nodded before she turned and left. When she got to Puck's house, Rachel took a deep breath before walking up to the door and ringing the doorbell.

Puck opened the door, shirtless, and smiled. "Hey."

Taken back, Rachel stuttered. "H-hey. What's going on?"

"Well my mom and Sara are gone for the day so I thought we could take advantage of the empty house," he said, letting her in.

When they reached his room, she froze when she saw roses on the bed in the shape of a heart. "I don't understand, what's happening?"

"You said you're ready so I set this up for us."

"Wow," she smiled before he kissed her. As he leaned her back on the bed, she pulled away. "You're serious?"

"Yeah. You said to stop treating you like something fragile so I'm not," he replied before leaning down and kissing her neck.

Rachel tried to understand what Puck was saying but the more he continued, the more wrong it felt. Something about this wasn't right. She wasn't sure if it was Puck or if she truly wasn't ready but she did know that this probably wasn't a good idea. Not right now.

"Wait," she told him. He stopped and looked at her. "I don't want to do this."

"What changed? Last night you were pissed because I wouldn't do this with you."

"I know but…something doesn't feel right. I don't know what it is but I'm not ready to do this. Not right now anyway."

Puck paused before sitting up and smirking. "I knew it would work."

"Knew what would work?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Rachel I know you're not ready to do this now," he laughed lightly. "I just wanted you to realize it."

"You tricked me."

"I like to think of it as me guiding you to your truth. You didn't want to admit it but I made you do it anyway like the genius that I am," he smiled proudly as Rachel playfully hit him.

"I should've known something was up since you changed your mind so easily," she rolled her eyes before looking at him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Is what you got arrested and sent to juvie for really so bad that you don't want to tell me?"

Puck frowned. "I just don't want you to look at me differently."

"I won't," she shook her head.

"You will. My mom knows and she barely even looks at me. If that's how my own mother reacts imagine how my girlfriend will."

"But I'm not like that."

"Yes you are. You're good, you come from a pretty decent family. Even the one you got stuck with is decent. My family is broken and I just made it worse by getting sent away. It's humiliating."

"You don't have to be embarrassed with me, Noah. I understand that whatever you did you made a mistake so I'm not going to judge you for it. I just want you to tell me the truth."

"And I promise, someday I will. But just like you're not ready to have sex, I'm not ready to talk about it. I just want to enjoy that honeymoon phase crap that everyone talks about when they first get with someone."

Rachel giggled before kissing him. "Okay we can do that."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day, Rachel went into Shelby's room to borrow a curling iron for her hair. When she was about to walk out, she noticed a small box in the corner of the room and went to open it. Inside, there was a small silver photo album with her name on the front of it. Confused, Rachel flipped through the book and felt her stomach turn when she saw it was photos of her as a baby and toddler. She had no idea that her fathers were in contact with Shelby and part of her was furious for never knowing.

"Hey did you find the curling iron?" Shelby asked from the doorway. When she noticed what Rachel was looking at, she frowned. "Rachel-"

"My dads sent you these didn't they?"

"They did," she nodded. "They wanted to thank me for giving them you so they thought I should be able to see how you looked growing up."

"But you only have me up until I was three. What happened to the rest of them?"

Shelby hesitated. "I asked your dads not to send me anymore photos of you. Giving you up was so hard on me and I was a wreck inside about it. Seeing pictures of you just became too hard."

"Wow," Rachel nodded with tears in her eyes. "Even then you didn't want me."

"No that's not it. I had just become a mother to Marley and a wife to David and I knew that if I kept looking for those photos I would keep regretting my decision and hating myself for it. I would keep wanting to get you and bring you home but I knew that you were better off with them."

"My dads were great but how do you think getting my period for the first time was? Or the first time I had a crush on a boy or the first time a girl made up a rumor about me so that same boy wouldn't talk to me? I really needed a mom and you weren't there because it was hard for you."

"Sweetheart I'm so sorry. The photos stopped but that doesn't mean I stopped thinking about you. I did search for your face everywhere wondering how you would look so grown up and it killed me that I missed all of it."

Rachel shook her head. "Yeah I'm sure it did. But it didn't kill you enough to come and meet me. Or even check and see if I was okay. You already had your perfect family so why screw that up? It was just best to put me out of your memory, wasn't it?"

"Rachel-"

"I'm going for a walk just leave me alone," she said, walking past her.

She went downstairs and walked straight out of the door, ignoring Marley and David calling her name. Rachel knew she shouldn't be upset with her dads but she couldn't understand why they knew where her mother was and never told her. They knew she had questions about where she came from but they always told her they didn't know where Shelby was. It bothered her that they lied to her and she couldn't even ask them why.

As she walked to Puck's house, James Puckerman drove up beside her. "Hey do you need a ride?"

"Sorry I was told never to get in a car with strangers," she rolled her eyes. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm really not in the mood."

He chuckled. "You have no idea who I am do you?"

"No and I don't really care."

"I'm Puck's dad."

She stopped as they reached Puck's house. "I thought he got a restraining order against you?"

"What can I say, I'm a risk taker," he shrugged. "I just had to meet the girl he's so crazy about he's turning down my offer of leaving this place."

"What offer?"

"Ah I see he hasn't told you anything about that. Well I just thought after being involved in a fight that killed someone he'd want to get out of town as soon as he could."

Rachel's jaw dropped. "I'm sorry, what the hell are you talking about?"

Before he could respond, Puck ran out of the house. "You have five seconds to get the hell out of here or I'm calling the cops."

James smiled. "Say no more. Just know my offer still stands. Something tells me you're going to want it."

He drove off as Rachel turned to Puck. "Start explaining now."

"Maybe we should go inside."

"No I don't want to go inside. What did you go to juvie for and I want to know now. The truth."

Puck sighed. "I was in a fight with these group of guys and someone was killed. But it's not what you think."

"What I think is that maybe I made a huge mistake with you. I thought you were my one good thing about getting stuck here but I was wrong."

"Rachel just let me explain," he said, trying to touch her but she stepped away from him.

"I just can't deal with any of this."

As she turned and walked away, Rachel closed her eyes to keep the tears from falling. Everyone was keeping something from her and it was all becoming too much. The only people who could make it better were never coming back and the pain of that realization was becoming too much to deal with so she did what she could only think to do. She ran.

 **Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello everyone! Enjoy!**

Chapter 14

Puck groaned as he heard Rachel's cell phone go straight to voicemail the fifth time he called her. He knew she'd react this way when she found out about what he did but he was hoping to tell her on his own in his own time. The fact that his father took that from him infuriated him.

Puck grabbed his keys and got in his car to find James to give him a piece of his mind but he was stopped when David drove up next to him.

"Noah have you seen Rachel?" he asked.

"No, we…" He wasn't sure if they were broken up but he was hoping that wasn't the case. "We just had a fight and she ran off. I figured she went back home."

"No, her and Shelby had a fight too and she ran out. We figured she'd be here with you."

Puck frowned. That explained why Rachel was coming to him when his dad showed up. Now he was worried. "I want to help you look."

Seeing that it couldn't hurt, David nodded and Puck got into his car. As they drove around, Puck couldn't stop feeling like all of this was his fault. If he had just told her the truth in the beginning, none of this would be happening. He would've been her safe place to run away to but instead, she ran away from him too. If something happened to her he would never forgive himself.

"So you and Rachel had a fight," David said, bringing him out of his thoughts. "Must've been a bad one."

"Yeah it was. The fight between her and Mrs. Rose must've been pretty bad."

"Yeah, pretty much the worst one they've had. Rachel found out some stuff that was hard to hear."

Puck's stomach turned hearing this. "Same here. I'm starting to think my being back isn't really doing anyone any good."

"Well despite your fight, I noticed Rachel did seem happy when it came to you," David told him. "And for someone going through what she's going through, it's hard to make them that happy."

"Well I'm not making her happy right now. I know you and Mrs. Rose think I'm some screw-up who went to juvie and broke his mom's heart but you guys have no idea how much I wish I could change what happened."

The older man paused for a moment before responding. "I understand. You made a mistake and you paid for it. No reason you should have to keep paying for it."

Puck stayed silent. Since he came home, it felt like he was still paying for his mistake. His mother and sister barely spoke to him, his father wanted to ruin anything good that came to him, and Rachel didn't trust him anymore. If Rachel truly was done with him, there wasn't a reason to stick around anymore. After he finds out where Rachel is and if she's safe, it'll have to be something he really considers.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rachel took a deep breath as she walked to her destination. She knew that she couldn't turn her phone on otherwise Shelby would be able to track her. If she was even looking for her. She was probably happy to be rid of her which wouldn't be surprising to Rachel.

She dropped to the ground in front of her fathers' graves and sighed.

"I don't know what I'm doing here," she said. "I just figured that being here is easier than being…anywhere else I guess. A lot's changed since you've been gone. I got a sister. I was pretty awful to her at first, you guys would've been so upset with me. But I apologized and we're pretty close now."

She paused, thinking about Puck. "And I got a boyfriend. I know you would've loved to be here to meet him. He's been helping me deal with you being gone but now I don't know if he's who I should be with anymore. There are some things about him that even you guys would think is questionable. And I got a mom but you guys already knew about her. I'm trying really hard not to be angry with you for not telling me that you had been in contact with her at one point but it's hard. I've asked you guys questions about her before and you always said you hadn't spoken to her since she gave me over to you. I just want to know why you lied to me but I guess I'll never know."

She sighed, feeling tears falling. "I miss you guys more than you can imagine. I'll never understand why you didn't make it out that night and left me all alone but I'm trying to cope with it. I'm sorry I'm not doing a better job."

"I think you've been doing well," a voice said behind her. Rachel turned around and saw Jeff standing there with flowers.

"What are you doing here?"

"I've been coming here every other week since the funeral," he said, approaching her. "I replace the flowers and just talk to them like you're doing."

"You really think I'm doing well after I was so horrible to you?"

"Well all things considering, yeah I do. Rachel there's no textbook answer how to handle grief. Everyone deals differently and considering the situation you were put in, anyone would lash out."

"I'm so sorry for saying everything was your fault," she frowned. "I was already having a bad day but that's no excuse. I shouldn't have said it and I feel terrible."

Jeff smiled. "Apology accepted. You know I can't stay mad at my favorite Berry." Remembering her old nickname, Rachel smiled back and hugged him. "But I have to ask, how'd you get over here?"

She frowned as she pulled away. "I might've ran away."

"Rachel-"

"Look I found out some stuff that I can't deal with right now and I needed an escape. I can't go back there and I don't want Shelby or David to know I'm here."

He sighed. "How about we go to my house and you can tell me what happened?"

Reluctantly, Rachel nodded and left the cemetery with him. As they rode to his house, she sat in silence and took in her hometown. Everything seemed so different since she'd been gone. It didn't give her a familiar feeling that it should've.

When they got to the house, they went inside and were greeted by his wife who smiled and held out her arms to Rachel. "Hey long time no see."

"Hi Olivia," Rachel smiled back as she hugged her. "It's so good to see you."

"You too. We've missed you around here."

Jeff came out of the kitchen with hot tea for them before sitting in the living room with her. "So tell us what happened."

Rachel took a deep breath before explaining everything that has been happening with Shelby leading up to her discovery. By the time she was finished, Jeff nodded.

"Well I certainly do understand why you're upset," he replied.

"But?" she predicted.

He hesitated. "But your dads had a good reason for not telling you."

Rachel's jaw dropped. "You knew, didn't you?"

"I did but not until you were about ten or eleven. I was helping your dads clean out the garage and found the letter Shelby wrote to your dads telling them not to send her anymore pictures. When I asked them about it, they told me everything."

"So what was the good reason for not telling me they knew where my mother was?"

He sighed. "Your dads knew that if they had told you, you would feel exactly how you feel right now: that she doesn't want you. No parent wants their child to ever feel unwanted so they chose to protect you from that. Rachel your dads loved you so much and wanted the very best for you. I know it may hurt right now but they had the best intentions for not telling you the truth."

"This is so unfair." She closed her eyes as tears fell down her cheeks. "I can't even be mad at them because I know they had good intentions. Just like how it was when they were here."

"Yeah you never could stay mad at them for long," he chuckled.

"I want them back. More than anything I just want them here."

As she started to cry, Jeff wrapped his arms around her. "I miss them too. No matter how many therapy sessions I go to, I will never understand why things like this have to happen. But I do know that your dads would want you to be happy."

"I thought I was getting there but the one person who was really helping I found out I can't really trust him either. Everything is just a mess right now."

Olivia gave a small smile and put her hand over Rachel's. "Everything does seem like a mess but it will get better. You just have to hang in there. Running away doesn't really solve anything does it?"

"It gets me away from everyone." When Olivia raised an eyebrow, she sighed. "No it doesn't solve anything. But how am I supposed to go back to someone who doesn't want me?"

"When I came to see you, I had a chance to talk to Shelby," Jeff told her. "She didn't seem like someone who didn't want you. She seemed like she just wanted to learn how to make you more comfortable."

"Well obviously it was an act."

"Look I know this isn't the easiest situation. But you have a chance to get to know the woman who gave birth to you and helped give you the life you had with your dads. That woman that I met wanted answers to how she can be someone you admire. I know it may not seem like it but she is trying. You have to give her a chance though."

Rachel frowned and looked down. Maybe she hadn't given Shelby a fair chance since she'd been with her. But how could she forget that she wanted nothing to do with her at one point in time?

Deciding to change the subject, Jeff smirked. "So who's the boyfriend?"

She rolled her eyes as Olivia's jaw dropped. "What? You have a boyfriend?"

"I guess. I'm not really sure the state of our relationship right now. In addition to finding out about Shelby I found out something he was keeping from me too. It's like no one wants to tell me the truth anymore."

"Well is what he kept from you breakup worthy?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know. I can't really think about it right now with all this stuff with Shelby still lingering."

Jeff and Olivia nodded in understanding before going on to catch up about their lives. For the first time all day, Rachel felt calm and safe with the people she was with.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shelby sighed as she got off the phone with David. He still hadn't found Rachel and was going to just come home for the night. It worried her that she had no idea where she was and it was all her fault.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Marley walk in. "Hey honey."

"Did he find her?" she asked, sitting across from her. Her mother shook her head and she sighed. "You know this wouldn't have happened if you would've told her the truth."

Taken aback by Marley's tone, Shelby shook her head. "It's too complicated for you to understand."

"What I understand is that Rachel's somewhere heartbroken because you lied to her and constantly prove that you really don't want her."

"That's ridiculous, of course I want her. I wouldn't have taken her in if I didn't."

"Or you just did it out of guilt. Taking her in was more about you than it was about her and you know it. And now even Rachel knows."

Without another word, Marley went upstairs to her room leaving Shelby speechless. She and Marley never argued and she never expected her to be like this towards her. Now both girls wanted nothing to do with her at the moment and she couldn't feel worse.

Her cell phone rang and she frowned when she saw an unfamiliar number. "Hello?"

"Shelby, hi. It's Jeff, Hiram and Leroy's friend."

"Right Jeff, I remember. How are you?"

"Better than you probably are right now. Don't worry, she's here with me and my wife."

Shelby breathed a sigh of relief. "So she's safe."

"Absolutely safe. Broken, but safe."

"I don't know what to do. As you see I'm failing miserably with her and I just don't know how to fix it. Do I just have my husband go get her now or do I give her space? I'm at a loss."

He paused. "You want my advice?"

"Please."

"My wife and I managed to calm her down so I think it's best you confront this issue head-on. It's the only way you two will be able to move on."

She thought about it and sighed. "You're right. I'm on my way."

After she got the address, Shelby sent a quick text to David letting him know she found out where Rachel was and was going to get her alone. As she drove, she just hoped that Rachel would give her a chance to explain herself.

Meanwhile, David sighed in relief when he read Shelby's message of finding Rachel.

"She's safe," he told Puck. "She's at a family friend's."

Puck felt a weight lift off his chest. "That's great, I'm glad she's okay."

"So I guess after she and Shelby work things out, you two can talk."

"I doubt she'll want to talk to me. I messed up pretty badly. Kind of like how I always do."

The older man frowned. He didn't know Puck well but he did know that Rachel seemed very happy with him and that meant something. "Everyone messes up Noah. Doesn't mean you should give up."

"I don't think of it as giving up. I think of it as helping her get better options."

Not knowing how to respond, David stayed silent as he drove them home. Now that he knew Rachel was safe, the idea of leaving Lima behind was becoming more and more appealing to Puck. He could disappear and not tell anyone where he was going, especially his father. Then he would have a real chance at starting over again. The only thing wrong with that idea is that it doesn't give him Rachel.

 **Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello everyone! Enjoy!**

Chapter 15

Shelby sighed before ringing the doorbell to Jeff's house. After a moment, the door opened and he smiled at her.

"Hey come on in," he told her, letting her in. "She's out back with my wife."

"Any advice before I go in?"

He paused. "Just be honest with her. Answer her questions honestly. That's all she's been wanting."

She nodded and walked out the backdoor. When she walked outside, Rachel looked at her and frowned.

Sensing the tension, Olivia got up. "I'll leave you two alone to talk."

As she walked inside, Shelby sat down where Olivia sat and looked at Rachel. "I think we need to talk."

"I was kind of hoping David would be the one to come get me," she mumbled.

"Rachel I am so sorry that you found out about the book the way that you did. I was going to tell you about it once I felt our relationship was strong enough to handle it."

"I don't think our relationship will ever be that strong. You didn't want me, there's no coming back from that."

Silence passed between them before Shelby spoke. "You know, Marley's not too happy with me right now either. She hated the thought of you being out there with nowhere to go. You two have obviously gotten very close."

"Yeah I guess we did," she replied, feeling guilty that she left Marley with no explanation.

"She said something that I've been thinking about the entire drive here. She said that taking you in was more about me than it was about you. At first I thought it was crazy. I took you in because I didn't want you to have to go into foster care. But while I was driving, I realized that she was right. My wanting to take you in wasn't because I cared about whether or not you ended up in foster care. It was about me."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I knew it."

"Having the opportunity to take you and care for you would've been a way for me to rectify giving you up to begin with. It would've allowed me to finally be rid of that ache I've had in my heart for the past sixteen years. When I saw you for the first time since giving you up, once I saw how truly broken you were, it wasn't about rectifying what happened all those years ago. It was about being there to help heal that broken heart of yours."

"And yet all you've done is break it more."

"I'll admit, my methods haven't been the best. I've been trying so hard to be as amazing as your dads to make up for losing them but that's impossible. I can never replace your fathers because they were really great parents. But everything I've done has been to try to get to know you and be a mother to you. I'm realizing now that that's not what you need from me. What you need is someone who cares about you, who is there to help you through your grief. Someone who sees you." She put a piece of Rachel's hair behind her ear. "It took some time but I finally see you, Rachel. That doesn't mean I won't mess up every now and then but I will never give up on you. And I hope you won't ever give up on me."

The teenager sniffed as tears fell down her cheeks. "How do I know you really want me this time? That you're not just doing this for you like you did when you first took me in?"

Shelby thought for a moment. "Guilt was what made me want to take you in but it's not the reason I want you to stay. I want you to stay because I want to keep getting to know the remarkable young woman your fathers made you to be. The way that I see it, you're every bit as much my daughter as Marley is and that's not going to change."

Rachel sat for a moment taking in everything Shelby said. When she didn't respond, Shelby became worried until Rachel got up and hugged her. Taken back at first, she immediately wrapped her arms around her.

"I'm sorry for being so difficult," Rachel said. "I know I haven't made this any easier. I just miss my dads so much and-"

"Hey you don't need to explain yourself to me. Like I said you have every right to be as upset and angry as you are."

"But that doesn't excuse how rude I've been. I have an opportunity to get to know the woman who gave me my dads in the first place and I don't want to mess that up. I want to come home."

Shelby smiled before hugging her again. "Of course you can come home."

Jeff and Olivia watched the two from the kitchen and smiled at the sight as Rachel felt relief wash over her. For the first time since she lost her fathers, things looked like they really were going to be okay.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When she and Shelby walked through the door later that evening, Rachel couldn't deny that part of her was nervous about Marley being angry with her. She knew she wouldn't be able to blame her if she was.

"Look who's home," Shelby yelled.

David and Marley came out of the kitchen and when she saw Rachel, Marley ran to hug her.

"Glad to have you back," David smiled.

"We were really worried about you," Marley added.

Rachel frowned. "I'm sorry I did that to you guys."

"You're home now, that's all that matters," he told her.

She nodded before going upstairs with Marley to get settled back in as Shelby looked at David.

"I brought her back," she smiled. "I was just honest with her and it brought her back."

"Told you we'd be okay," he smirked, giving her a kiss.

Rachel came back downstairs and rolled her eyes before going to the refrigerator to get a glass of water. "Why not just high five like normal people?"

"Very funny," David replied before frowning. "But there's something we need to discuss."

"I knew it was too good to be true. How long am I grounded for?"

"No it's not about that. Noah was with me, helping me look for you."

Rachel frowned, remembering the fight they had. "He was helping?"

"Yeah he was really worried about you. He said you two had a fight before you ran off."

"I guess you can call it that."

"Well why not call him and let him know you're safe?" Shelby suggested. "Whatever you two fought about can be resolved right?"

"I don't think so. He's just not the person I thought he was."

She hesitated, not sure if they were at that stage yet in their relationship. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Rachel gave a small smile at the attempt. "After the day I just had not really. I'm kind of talked out but if I change my mind I know I can come to you."

Satisfied, Shelby smiled and nodded as Rachel put her glass in the sink and went back upstairs. It felt good to know that she and Shelby were finally getting to that place in their relationship where they could talk about stuff like Puck. Maybe she will actually take her up on that offer later on.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That Monday, Rachel went to school and found Quinn at her locker.

"So you're not dead," the blonde smirked.

Rachel laughed lightly. "I am most certainly not dead. I just had a really awful day and wanted to disappear."

"Have you talked to Puck?"

"No I'm not sure if I want to talk to him or what I can even say to him. I found out some stuff about him and I don't know if I can deal with it."

"Well you may not have to. Since you haven't talked to him I guess you haven't heard."

"Heard what?" she asked, confused.

"You weren't the only one who wanted to disappear. Puck's gone. He cleaned out his locker and no one's seen him since."

Rachel's heart dropped. "What?"

"Whatever you two fought about must've been the final straw for him," she shrugged.

"No that can't be true. He was helping David look for me when I ran away."

"Maybe he left after he found out you were safe. But he's gone, Rachel."

Rachel shook her head before turning and running out of the building, ignoring Quinn calling her name. She had listened to Puck's voicemails that he left when she ran away but none of them mentioned him leaving. Even if they weren't speaking she wouldn't think he would leave without saying goodbye.

When she got to his house, Rachel frowned when she saw his truck was gone. She shook her head in disbelief before getting her phone and dialing his number. When it went to voicemail, she groaned. This must've been how he felt when she turned her phone off. Karma really was a bitch.

As she kept trying to call, a car pulled up in front of the house.

"Looking for Puck?" a voice asked.

Rachel quickly turned around and sighed in relief when she realized it was Andy. "Do you know where he is?"

"Afraid not. I was hoping I'd find him here."

"You and me both. I can't believe he left without saying goodbye," she said, feeling tears in her eyes. "But I guess I deserve it."

Andy sighed before getting out of the car. "I don't know about the not saying goodbye part."

"What do you mean?"

He held up a folded paper. "I found this in my mailbox. He wanted me to give it to you personally so there wasn't a chance of anyone in your family reading it. I was hoping I could catch him before he left but I see we're both too late."

"I guess so. He wrote me a letter?"

"Yeah." He walked over to her and handed it to her. "I didn't read it, don't worry."

"Do you know why he left?"

Andy paused. "His dad's been trying to interfere with his life. From what he told me, Puck was just tired of it and wanted to start fresh. But I'm sure he explained that to you in the letter. I hope you get some answers."

As he started to walk away, Rachel called to him. "Will you let me know if he contacts you?"

He stopped about thought about it before turning back to her. "I doubt he will. But sure."

As he got in the car and drove away, Rachel unfolded the letter and held her breath before reading what Puck left her.

 _Rachel,_

 _First, I'm glad you're safe. When I heard you ran away partly because of me, I felt like shit. I hate that instead being what you could run to, you ran away from me too. I'm sorry that I lied to you about my charges. I just never wanted you to see me as that terrible person that my mom sees me as. You've become someone who I really care about and the fact that I caused you pain makes me sick. I keep screwing up and hurting people and my dad won't stop until he ruins my life more than he already has so I need to get away from this place and start fresh. I'm going to get my GED and start building my life back up. I wish I could have you with me but you belong there with your family. But before I go I just want to set one thing straight: I didn't kill anyone. I was bringing my dad his money from his illegal dealings with my best friend and we got jumped. We were fighting and my friend was killed. It wasn't my fault but I got stuck with a shitty public defender so I got stuck with the charge. I wish I could go back to that point in time and make different choices but I can't. I hope you give this new family a chance because based off what I've seen, they really care about you. I love you, Rachel. I know I've never said that but I do. Good luck with everything._

 _Puck_

Rachel folded up the letter before sitting on the porch to cry. She never thought Puck would actually leave her. Now he was gone and she had no way of telling him she forgave him for lying or apologizing for ignoring him. He was gone and probably never coming back.

 **Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello everyone! Enjoy!**

Chapter 16

"I'm really worried about her David," Shelby frowned as they made breakfast. "It's been two weeks and she's still so heartbroken about Noah."

"Well he made a pretty big impact on her life. He was the one to reach her when we couldn't so for her to lose him it's like she's losing everything all over again."

"I just wish there was something we could do. I hate seeing her sad, it's like she's back to how she was when she first got here."

They stopped talking when they heard footsteps come down the stairs. When he saw it was Marley, David smiled at her. "Morning honey. Breakfast?"

"Sure," she nodded and sat down as David made her a plate and placed it in front of her. "Rachel won't get out of bed. I've tried everything but she just wants to lay there."

"That's a broken heart for you," Shelby replied. "Makes you not even want to get out of bed to go into the world. Don't worry we'll talk to her."

"I doubt there's anything you'll be able to say to her. I mean Puck was someone she thought she could count on and he just up and left with no goodbye. If I were her I'd hate the guy." As she finished eating, they heard a horn honk from outside. "That's Blaine, we're going to the mall."

"This early?" David asked.

"Well he wants a new wardrobe and you know Blaine, shopping with him can be an all-day thing."

"Okay well have fun. Call us if anything changes."

"I will," she nodded as she quickly left out.

Shelby sighed. "Okay I'm going up to talk to her. Maybe I can get her to come downstairs and eat something." Noticing David's shocked expression, she frowned. "You think it's a bad idea?"

"No I'm just surprised that you're the one suggesting it. Usually you'd be asking me to take the lead on it."

"Well I really think my relationship with Rachel has improved tremendously since our talk. Hopefully this won't set us back."

"Doubt it," he shook his head. "You weren't the one who left."

She sighed before going upstairs to Rachel's room and slightly knocking on the door. "Rachel sweetheart, it's me. Can I come in."

"Sure," she heard her quiet voice say.

As she walked in, she frowned at Rachel laying curled in a ball in bed and sat on the end. "Rachel I know you're sad but you can't stay cooped up in your room all the time."

"Why not? I still go to school even though that's torture enough with everyone talking about it. Why can't I just stay in bed on the weekends and avoid all human contact?"

"Because that's not healthy. You have to get up and move on with your life just like he's doing."

Rachel paused. "No wonder my dads always said they didn't look forward to me having a boyfriend. They must've known it would end in heartache."

"Sad to say most first relationships do."

"I just thought this would be different but it's not because I drove him away."

Shelby shook her head. "Rachel Noah made the decision to leave on his own. You can't blame yourself for that."

"He wouldn't have left if I had just heard him out. Instead I shut down and shut him out so now he's shutting me out. So now I've lost my dads and my boyfriend."

As a tear fell down her cheek, Shelby pulled her into her arms. "Now you listen to me. It's no secret that you've lost a great deal recently. More than a sixteen-year-old should have to lose. But you have gained a few things as well. You got some new friends, you got a sister, you got David…"

"And I got you," she sniffed. "Even though I didn't appreciate it at first."

"Old news," she smiled. "Noah leaving may hurt now but I promise you'll heal. You'll be alright."

"How do you know?"

"You survived losing your parents, moving to a new home, a new school, getting to know a completely new family. You can survive this, you're very strong."

After a moment, she smiled. "Thanks Shelby."

"That's what I'm here for. Now you don't have to face the world if you don't want to but you do have to get out of bed at least."

Rachel hesitated but nodded knowing that Shelby was right. She had to find some way to move on from Puck if she was ever going to be okay again. If it was the last thing she did, she was going to find some way to be okay again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Marley looked out the car window anxiously before looking back at Quinn.

"Are you sure we're going to the right place?" she asked.

"Positive, relax. We're almost there," Quinn replied as she kept driving.

After a few minutes, she pulled up in front of a building. They got out and went inside where a young man greeted them.

"Hi can I help you?" he asked flirtatiously.

"We're looking for Puck," Quinn told him, trying to hide her disgust.

"Too bad, you need a real man."

"Alex shut up and stop bothering her," Puck interrupted, walking in. "I'll take this outside."

Alex nodded as Puck took them outside. Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Got to say when you said you worked in a tire shop I was hoping you were joking. Now you're a grease monkey."

"Hey I'm a grease monkey with a place to stay." He glanced at Marley. "You promised you wouldn't bring anyone with you."

"My sister is heartbroken and barely wanting to get out of bed because of you," she glared at him. "You're lucky I'm not hitting you right now."

"So she's back home," he replied, feeling a sense of relief. "That's good to hear."

"You'd know if you would've stayed around instead of running away like a coward."

"Look I didn't have a choice. I was making everyone's lives difficult so I did the considerate thing and took myself out of the picture."

"You left without even telling her goodbye to her face," Marley shook her head. "I thought you actually had feelings for her."

"If you recall, she wasn't really speaking to me at the time or taking any of my calls. I figured she was done with me so I left a letter for her before taking off."

"So instead of fighting for her, you gave up. Rachel lost her parents forever. The two people who took care of her and loved her more than anything else on earth are gone. You really thought you'd make her life better by leaving her too?"

He looked at Quinn. "Come on Q, you understand right?"

"Actually I don't," she shook her head. "For the past two weeks I've had to drag Rachel to class and watch her deal with everyone making up these crazy theories of why you left. And don't even get me started on Santana. I think Rachel's two seconds away from actually getting into a fight with her if she says another snarky remark about you leaving."

Puck groaned. "I messed everything up didn't I?"

"Pretty much," Marley replied.

"Just come home," Quinn told him. "You can make things right with Rachel."

"At this point I doubt she'd even take me back. If she's as miserable as you say she is, she's not going to forgive me."

"Wouldn't you want to at least try?" Marley asked. "For Rachel?"

Puck sighed. As much as he hated to admit, it has killed him to be away from Rachel for the past two weeks. He still wanted to be with her and if there was a chance that she might still want him, he owed it to himself to at least try.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rachel sighed as she walked back into the house from a walk. Shelby suggested she go out and get some air while her and David went out with friends. Surprisingly it helped a little but it still didn't fix anything.

When she walked inside, her heart stopped. "Noah?"

"Hey Rachel," he said, standing up from the couch.

"What…how…why are you…what is going on?" she asked, very confused as Marley and Quinn walked in from the kitchen. "You let him in?"

"More like they brought me back," Puck told her. "So we can talk."

"Well I don't want to talk to you. They shouldn't have brought you back so you can go back to wherever you ran away to."

"Rachel just hear him out," Marley told her. "You've been wanting an explanation and now you can have one."

"I don't want it anymore, I would rather him get out," she glared at Puck.

"Look I know you probably hate me and I don't blame you. I shouldn't have left like that."

"Without saying goodbye or telling me where you going or even letting me know if you were okay? Yeah I'd say that isn't the best way to leave someone you claim to be in love with."

He sighed and looked at Quinn and Marley. "Can you give us a minute?" The two nodded and walked out as he looked back at Rachel. "I meant what I said in that letter."

"Well I don't believe you. People who love each other don't just up and leave." Unable to help herself, her eyes filled with tears. "How could you do that to me?"

"I wasn't doing it to hurt you," he frowned, hating that he made her cry. "I thought you would be better off if I was gone. When I found out you ran away after our fight I felt horrible. If something had happened to you it would've partly been my fault. I should've been the one you felt you could run to and instead you ran away from me too. I waited until I found out that you were okay then I made arrangements to leave."

"Even though you promised to be here for me you left me and didn't even bother to tell me where you were or if you were even okay. Where were you all this time anyway? Holed up with some other girl?"

"No of course not. I was staying with my cousin in Columbus and working in his tire shop until I got settled and got my own place. I needed to get away from my dad before he ruined anything else like he ruined us."

"You not telling me about why you were in juvie was what ruined us not him," she reminded.

"To be fair I did tell you I wasn't ready to talk about it. I was going to tell you eventually but he got to you before I did."

Rachel shook her head. She didn't know what to think anymore and Puck showing up out of the blue wasn't something she was prepared for. "You can't just show up and think I'll forgive you for leaving like that."

"That wasn't what I was expecting. I just wanted to apologize for leaving and hurting you the way that I did. You deserved more than that."

"You're right I did. Now you can leave and go back to Columbus to continue with your new life."

"I'm not going anywhere until I find out where we stand," he told her.

"Well I don't know where we stand, I'm not very happy with you right now."

"That's fine I'll be staying at my house while you calm down. But I do love you Rachel and I don't want to lose you. Just keep that in mind."

Rachel hesitantly nodded as Puck kissed her on her cheek and left out. When the door closed, she sat down on the couch and let the tears fall. She didn't realize how much of an impact Puck's leaving had on her until he was standing right in front of her and now that he was back, everything was overwhelming. She didn't know what to do in the situation but she did know one thing: she needed a mom right now.

 **Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello everyone! Enjoy!**

Chapter 17

As soon as Shelby got home, she went straight to Rachel's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in," she heard her faint voice say.

When she entered and saw Rachel laid across her bed she frowned. "What happened? Have you talked to him? All your text said was that Noah was back."

"He came and apologized for leaving. Said he thought he was doing what was best for me, does that even make sense?"

"On some level yes." When Rachel looked at her confused, she sighed. "When I told your dads not to send me anymore pictures of you, I told myself I was doing what was best for you. I knew that if I were to keep getting pictures I would go and try to get you back. I would've attempted to rip you from two men you knew as your parents and from the only life you ever knew. That wouldn't have been fair to you so I cut off the last thing that connected me to you because I felt like I was doing what was best for you."

"That blew up too," Rachel mumbled.

Shelby laughed lightly. "It did. But I understand where Noah is coming from. Doing the best thing for the person you love isn't easy and is often misunderstood. I'm sure at the time Noah thought he was doing what he had to do to make your life better just like I did."

"So I'm just supposed to forgive him for leaving me like that?"

"It's up to you whether or not you want to forgive him. But I do know at one point, you and Noah were great together. You owe it to yourself to see if any of those feelings are still there so you're not stuck wondering what if."

Rachel thought about this. Even though she was still very upset with Puck, she knew that she missed him and needed to talk to him about everything otherwise she'd regret it. "You know, your talks are pretty good."

"Glad to hear it," she smiled, loving how much they've improved since she came back. "Come on, David ordered some pizza for us."

Before she followed Shelby downstairs, Rachel sent a quick text to Puck asking him to meet up so they could talk. Once he confirmed that she could come over to his house to talk, she felt the nerves kick in. She knew that if she waited another day she'd lose her nerve. She just wanted everything out in the open so they could figure out where to go from here.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Puck took a deep breath as he let Rachel in through the basement. When he got her text he couldn't say he wasn't relieved. Part of him knew there was a chance she'd want to stay broken up but another part of him hoped that Rachel would realize that she still wanted him.

When she walked in, he smiled. "Hey I'm glad you texted. I didn't think you'd want to talk so soon given your reaction."

"Yeah well you coming back was like a bomb dropping back in my life so I needed a chance to breathe," she told him before pausing. "Did you really think leaving was the best thing for me? Honestly?"

"At the time yes," he nodded. "I thought I was causing you pain so I had to take myself out of the picture."

"And cause me more pain," she rolled her eyes. "Why didn't you at least talk to me?"

"To be fair, you ran away after I told you the truth about juvie. I didn't think you'd want to talk to me after that."

"You still should've tried. Anything would've been better than leaving like you did and telling me something as important as 'I love you' in a letter rather than in person."

Puck sighed and tried to pull her closer but Rachel stepped back. Trying to ignore the hurt, he nodded. "You're right. Leaving without talking to you was a stupid choice. I thought I was doing what was best for you but I'm seeing that all I did was make everything worse and I'm sorry for that."

She paused before speaking again. "After my dads died, I thought my world was ending. That there was always going to be an ache in my heart because they're gone. Then you came along and I actually started to believe things could get better. Hell, I had the option of getting out of here but I stayed in that damn house even when I hated it partially so I could be with you. Then you left and that ache came back stronger than ever."

"Rachel-"

"How do I know you won't do it again? How am I supposed to trust you after that?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

Puck hesitantly stepped closer to her and when he saw that she wasn't moving away, he wrapped his arms around her and held her. "I swear to you, I will never do anything like that again. You're the reason I came back and I'll stay as long as you'll have me."

"What about your dad?"

"Let me worry about that. Just say that you'll give us another chance and I will unpack everything."

She looked up at him and stared at him for a moment. "Okay. But on one condition."

"You name it," he nodded.

"Tell me about that night. When you were arrested."

Puck hesitated but sighed and motioned to the bench. As they sat down, he took a deep breath before speaking. "My dad knew I wanted to get out of here more than anything. My best friend, Ryan, was going to come with us so he helped out sometimes too. But that night, my dad had us go get the money from this really big bet that he made. We got the money and were heading back to bring it to him but these guys just came out of nowhere and started beating the crap out of us. Ryan wasn't much of a fighter so I tried to protect him but it wasn't enough. Next thing I knew, I was standing over his body."

"Noah," she frowned, taking his hand.

"First night in juvie was the hardest. I had just lost my best friend that I grew up with and I didn't really know what I was in for. That was the first night I realized I hated my dad. I hated that I wanted to please him so much that I did that to myself and I hated that he wasn't man enough to tell me to stop before something like this happened. Getting out was the happiest day of my life until I saw my mom and she wouldn't even look at me and Sara barely came near me. To numb the pain, I continued my fling with Santana until you."

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that. That's awful."

He sighed. "I never wanted to tell you the truth because you've already been through so much crap and I felt like you deserved to have a normal relationship. I knew if I would've told you, you wouldn't have wanted anything to do with me and you'd be just as afraid of me as my mom and sister are."

Rachel paused and looked at him. "I'm not. I was wrong when I said I made a mistake with you. You're not some monster that did a horrible thing, you're just someone who made a mistake. That doesn't change how I feel about you."

Before anything else could be said, she leaned in and kissed him. Immediately, he responded and guided them towards the pullout bed. As she leaned back on the bed, Rachel pulled Puck's shirt off and pulled him closer to her. He ran his hands under her shirt before finally lifting it up off of her and kissing the exposed parts of her chest.

After a moment, he looked up at her. "Rachel-"

"Please don't tell me I'm not ready because I am, I'm sure this time."

He smirked. "Actually I was going to say that I have to grab a condom."

She giggled as he quickly took one from his wallet and came back to her. As they removed the rest of their clothing, it seemed like everything else that has happened between them has been forgotten. What mattered now was that Puck was back and willing to do anything to be with Rachel and she was more than willing to welcome him back.

As he entered her, Rachel took in a breath and wrapped her arms around him to keep him there. He leaned down to kiss her as he sped up his rhythm, enjoying every moment they were sharing together. As they reached their climaxes, their moans became louder and breathes became heavy.

Once they came down from their highs, Puck disposed of the condom and went to lay back next to Rachel.

"I'm almost sorry I kept making us wait," he joked.

She laughed. "So what's the real reason you kept putting it off?"

"I just knew that it wouldn't be right to do something like this with you when I wasn't being honest about everything. I wanted to make sure this was as special for you as possible."

"It was," she smiled. "And as long as you never leave again it can keep happening."

"Trust me babe, I'm not going anywhere. Like I said I'm here for as long as you'll have me."

She nodded and laid her head on his chest as Puck felt a sense of relief. He had Rachel back and he knew that he didn't want to take the risk of losing her again. If that meant having to deal with his father, then that's what he'd have to do.

 **Let me know your thoughts. Bye for now :)**


End file.
